


Abomination

by moonchildthings



Series: The Rebellion Report [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cyborgs, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-01-24 22:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 70,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21345622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonchildthings/pseuds/moonchildthings
Summary: Living in Detroit, the capital of androids, constantly reminds Natalie Tyler of the accident that changed her life for the worst. Her world is overturned after deciding to adventure out of her apartment and back into the cruel world. When androids start to peacefully protest for their rights, she is asked to work with a RK800 prototype android that goes by the name Connor.[Detroit: Become Human][Connor x Female!OC][Apart of the Rebellion Report][Complete]
Relationships: Connor/Original Android Character(s) (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: The Rebellion Report [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538788
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: Detroit: Become Human - Connor x Reader/OC Recommendations





	1. Readjustment

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of my Detroit: Become Human Fanfiction! I'm super excited to be writing this because I am literally obsessed with this game! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Cast:  
Natalie Tyler-Emma Stone  
Ethan Tyler-Jack Harris

**DATE**

**NOV 5TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 08:43:18**

**"DID YOU SEE THE NEWS THIS MORNING?"**

A pair of light green eyes tore themselves away from the tablet they had previously been reading to stare at where the voice had come from. With a tilted head of chestnut hair, a woman, looking approximately twenty-six years of age, pursed her thin pink lips and glanced up at the voice. "I don't watch the news anymore," she said spitefully and looked back down to her reading, "all they ever speak about is the negative aspects of life. I don't want to be reminded that life outside is just as bad as in here."

The voice sighed. "I'm just saying, it was quite… different than what they usually cover."

She paused her reading once more and finally turned her full attention to the man in the doorway of the room. The man, Ethan Tyler, smiled slightly at her and nodded his head as if he read her mind. He could imagine her confusion at his statement. "They weren't just expressing their admiration for the fact that androids make such good slaves?"

Ethan chuckled slightly, however, he couldn't help the sting of bitterness that struck his chest at the reminder. He is well away of the fact that androids are looked down upon in their society. He has been reminded of it every day. Despite the majority of people disrespecting androids because their only purpose is to be slaves to humanity. However, both he and Natalie have always viewed androids to be equal, or at least, that they can be equal to humans. That view has never changed. Not even after the accident.

"You know how humanity is," he tried to joke, but he only earned an eye roll from Natalie. "They always do, but this one story that they covered is… well, you'll just have to watch it to see." He left the bedroom and strolled into the family room of the apartment as he plopped down onto the couch in front of the muted television.

With slight apprehension, Natalie shuffled her way out of her bedroom and into the family room to join Ethan by the couch. She didn't make a move to sit beside him because she didn't see a need to. Whatever story the twenty-three-year-old had to show her was most likely some sort of joke. As soon as she heard what the news anchors had to say about their "slaves", she would go back into her solitude and wither away in her room as she was before. She didn't care about what everyone else was doing on the outside. She hasn't left their shared apartment in over three years. If this news story was a way for Ethan to try and convince her to go out and back into the society that ruined her life, then he will be sorely mistaken. Nothing has, or will, convince her to leave this apartment.

The apartment is decent. Nothing too fancy or plain, and it is the perfect size for the two people in the family room. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a decent kitchen, small family room, and a small dining room proved to be the right amount of space for them. They had some of the latest technology all around their home, though it was more for Ethan's use. Natalie mostly just uses tablets for reading.

"So who's reporting it this time," Natalie scoffed and crossed her arms in slight annoyance.

"It's not just one of them, Nat, it's all of them!"

Natalie turned to him with a skeptical eye, "What kind of story is this again?"

Ethan smiled as he realized that he now had her full attention, "one you'll find intriguing, I'm sure of it."

Natalie pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. If Ethan says that this story is intriguing, then it must be something to look into. Even if it wasn't, she found it cute that Ethan wanted to show her something he found important. The way his eyes crinkled in the corners of his light green eyes that would become flooded with hope always caused her to smile slightly. He is the only one that could make her smile like that. He will always be the only one. Because she is never going back outside again.

"Unmute," he commanded the television and at his word, the television began to emanate the sounds of the news anchors as they explained the details of a certain story.

"Several sources report that Cyberlife has provided Detroit Police with a prototype detective android. Although police assistant androids have existed for several years now, this would be the first case of an android being authorized to play an active role in criminal investigations." One of the news anchors, a grey-haired man who does nothing but annoy Natalie to death, started before Ethan changed the channel to another news show. At the man's words, Natalie's eyes widened as she uncrossed her arms. An android? _Man_, Natalie thought, _what the hell type of prototype is this android?_ She sat down on the chair beside the couch and leaned forward to get closer to the television as it drew all of her attention. Ethan was right, this story is certainly intriguing.

"It is confirmed that two months ago the prototype android conducted the negotiation during the hostage situation involving a malfunctioning android and the Phillip family."

The channel switched once again, "despite the fact that the hostage, nine-year-old Emma Phillip, had been retrieved safely from the rouge android that had taken her hostage, you must wonder: Was there a high risk of her dying if there was a problem caused by the prototype."

Again, it switched, "The prototype RK800 was approved to work on these cases by the Chief of Police and Cyberlife. However, can we really trust an android to deal with such high-stake situations?"

And again, "have the officers even thought of the precautions that can come with allowing an android to conduct these investigations?"

"Androids are good for one thing, and one thing only! They are, for lack of a better word, slaves. They have no other purpose and they don't have the higher intellectual capacity to deal with deadly situations like this!"

"Off!" The television turned off at Natalie's harsh command and left both Natalie and Ethan in their silent apartment. The cars outside are really the only sound that can be heard in the apartment.

Ethan turned to Natalie as she drummed her fingers against the armrest of her chair in contemplation. He observed how her eyes became narrow, her lips were pulled back in a straight line and her eyebrows were creased. He knows that she must be thinking over what the news really means, how the news could affect everyone and the probability that this effect could be positive or negative. She rarely ever did this sort of thing. After the surgery, Natalie didn't want to use her mind for the longest time. It had gotten to a point where Ethan had to make sure that she didn't end up erasing everything in her mind at an attempt to stop her own suffering. The first few weeks after the life-saving surgery, Natalie had information implanted into her mind by the doctors who operated on her in order to see a certain outcome. The only outcome he observed was her humanity slowly being stripped away.

He brushed off those negative thoughts and focused on what was happening now, "so what do you think?"

Natalie pursed her lips and turned to him with a calculating stare, "are you trying to get me to go outside?" She inquired, "do you think that now there is an android working as some sort of detective that I might decide to venture outside on the chance that I'll feel accepted by our society?"

"Damn, you've caught me," Ethan chuckled nervously as he leaned forward to get closer to her. He sighed, "listen, Nat, I know things are hard now, but it's been three years, don't you want to go outside and see everything again? I mean you're starting to get a bit pale!" He tried to joke and earned a slight giggle from the woman. They both knew that she is pale by nature, it's just in her genetics. Even now, it isn't like staying inside will do anything to make her paler, her skin will always stay the same now. She'll always look the same for the rest of her life.

"Ethan, I know that you have good intentions, however, I don't think my presence will be well received-"

"But that's the thing, Nat! You look human! It's not like anyone is going to look at you and know right away that you're different."

Natalie sighed and shook her head as she tried to understand where Ethan was coming from. "I know that, Ethan. It's just… I can't look at the world the same anymore," She gulped. Ethan's gazed lowered in sadness as he realizes what she is saying. He could try to integrate her back into the world, but everything is different for her. Nothing is going to be the same for her ever again. "No matter where I look I always see… information about something I look at, whether I want it or not. It's like it automatically downloads into my head and I can't make it go away. I don't want to know someone's criminal past or their occupation or statistics or probabilities." Her frustration boiled up as she exclaimed, "I just hate seeing all of that!"

Ethan jumped out of his seat as he could see her emotions were beginning to grow. He quickly pulled her up and embraced her in a tight hug. Despite her being older by a few years, he is taller than her by a good few inches. He hugged her tightly, "I won't force you, I promise. I just thought that this is a chance for you to get back out there. You were given life again, I don't want you to hide away forever."

Natalie scoffed, "since this experiment worked out, I'll probably live forever."

Ethan shook his head and held her shoulders, "you know what I mean, Natalie." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I don't want you to lock yourself up in your room, you of all people deserve to live life to the fullest! I want to see you happy…" He sighed and cupped her face in his hands before placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. _Getting agitated isn't going to help_, she thought, _maybe he's_ _right_. Going back outside might possibly be beneficial… despite the fact that the world has caused her tremendous hardships and pain, she can't hide away from it. Perhaps what she needs is one day out just to see if she's ready. One day out of the apartment might do her some good. Where she might go is unknown to her, but she knows just the person to go see first.

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 5TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 10:47:34**

"Natalie." An RK200 model android, called Markus, greeted as the doors to the large mansion slide open. Dressed in a dark green hoodie, white t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a white beanie, Natalie smiled at the android in front of her. She always found that she had an easier time speaking with androids than humans throughout her life, more so now than before.

"Morning, Markus. I suspect Carl's home, I hope he isn't too busy." She stated hopefully.

The android smiled and moved to the side to allow the woman into the home. "He just finished working on one of his paintings, follow me."

The two walked through the hallway of the luxurious home and Markus lead Natalie into the living area. At the far left of the room was the dining table where an old man sat in a wheelchair. From the evident scowl on his face, Natalie suspects that Carl had a run in with his deadbeat son, Leo. Natalie hates that man with a passion. (Her perfect memory has given her the ability to remember a person's mannerisms, and she can remember just how Carl acted when he had just spoken to his son. There are a few good aspects of her improvement and this one she is somewhat pleased to have it, but she would rather do without a few other… updates she received. It's a blessing and a curse, as she would say.)

"You've redecorated," Natalie said which drew Carl's attention to her as she looked around the living area and took in all of the changes. She turned to the old man with a smirk and continued with a solemn voice, "I don't like it."

"Oh, and I was hoping for your approval," Carl jokingly commented as Markus wheeled Carl out from behind the dining table and toward the young woman. He stares at her with a slight reprimanding stare. "It seems you've finally found the time to visit me."

Natalie smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "It only took me three years to get out of the apartment, huh?"

"It's good to see you, Natalie, however, I hoped that my favorite goddaughter would have visited earlier than this." Carl chastised her as they moved over to the couches so that they could sit together. Natalie rested on the armrest of the couch as Markus wheeled Carl to sit in front of her. The android disappeared into the kitchen to get a drink for the two of them.

"How have you been, Carl?" Natalie asked with a smile and laughed, "I can't imagine how dull life has been without me!"

Carl chuckled at her exclamation, "it has been, my dear. Though Marcus has been great company since you've been gone." At the mention of his name, the android came back into the room with two glasses full of what Natalie could see as wine. The information popped out at her once the drink was in her view.

'**Satte Cava**

Aged: 16 years, 9 months, 3 days. Origin: Verona, Italy

Company: Colline Lisce'

She rubbed her eyes and blinked repeatedly and tried to make the information disappear from her sight. "Are you alright?" Natalie nodded her head and took the drink from Markus' extended hand.

"I'm good, Carl, just a slight headache," she tried to convince him the best she can.

Carl could see right through her lie. He has known Natalie ever since she was a little girl, he even knew her parents before she was born, so he knows when she lies. Even though he hasn't seen her face to face in three years, and she has gone through a tough recovery, she is still the same little girl he babysat in the past. He still sees her as his own daughter.

"I can tell it's not just 'a slight headache'," he commented and sipped on the drink, "it has to do with the surgery, doesn't it?"

Natalie let out a breathy laugh, "of course you can tell if it is or not." She took a deep breath and lowered her head, "I just can't stop it sometimes," she gestured to her head, "my mind just downloads information instantly, wherever I look I always get information about random things and it gets annoying really fast."

Carl nodded his head as he sympathizes with her, "but your surgery was life-saving, without it we would not be having this conversation, I'm afraid we would still be grieving."

Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "would it have been better that way." Her voice was barely a whisper, but Carl's aged ears were able to hear what she said. He shook his head and was about to say something when she continued. "Would it be better to remember me for what I was before? To remember me as just… me? Now they all despise me because I've become something completely different!"

"Don't say something like that, Natalie!" Carl chastised her with a harsh voice. Why does she think that? He wondered it was a miracle that she was saved after the accident. However, even after the surgery, he can see that her life has become… less than pleasant for her. "Your cousin has done a lot for me in my old age, but I am most grateful for him saving your life."

Natalie stayed silent and contemplated his words. Didn't she get a say in whether she lived or died that day? She is glad that she was saved from an early death, but was it really worth it. Was it worth losing everything that made her life… her life? In her family's opinion, their little girl did die that day. A… creature took her place afterward. She took a swig of the alcoholic drink and grimaced at the taste, "god, I almost forgot that you have such a bad taste of wine." She chuckled weakly.

Carl sighed and placed his glass down on the side table then rested his hands on Natalie's as she gripped her own glass tightly. Her knuckles had turned white and he thought he saw the glass start to crack at the amount of force she was using on it. "I know it's hard, Natalie, I can't imagine what you're going through. But things will get better, they have too." He told her. He hopes that his optimism will rub off on her and convince her that her misfortune is over.

"I hope you're right," Natalie said and turned away from him so he wouldn't see the expression of disbelief she is certain washed over her face. "'Cause I don't know how much longer I can take this."

The two were enveloped in silence as they both took in her words. Carl then sighed, "how's Ethan? I'm sure he's happy to know that you've decided to leave the apartment." Diverting the conversation from the depressing topic it had seemed to stumble upon seems to be a good decision. That was evident from the fact that Natalie turned back to Carl with an appreciative smile.

"Oh, he's over the moon." She laughed slightly as the tension began to wash away from her body. "He followed me all over the place this morning, I ditched him downtown after he dragged me around." Carl chuckled. Yes, that seems to be something Ethan would do. "He had to show me all the new shops that were down there. It was strange to see what places closed and what replaced them." She took another sip of the, in her opinion, ghastly tasting wine, "though, I was happy to see that my favorite cafe is still there."

Carl nodded his head, "things must have changed quite a bit after being cooped up in your home for so long."

"You have no idea," She commented, "it's like I was let out of a time capsule from three years ago!"

The two continued to chat idly with each other and enjoyed themselves. Carl had indulged himself in his Italian wine as Natalie barely touched the drink. At one point, she had asked Markus for just a glass of water in order to wash the sour taste from her mouth. She hasn't been much of a drinker in her adult life and nowadays, alcohol doesn't agree with her much anymore. Though, that doesn't bother her much.

After about an hour of the two conversing, every once in a while Markus would join in as well, Natalie's eyes fluttered closed. Carl watched in fascination as her eyes rapidly moved around underneath her eyelids. Just as fast as her eyes closed, they opened again, though this time the green orbs were glazed over slightly and she looked dazed. "Is everything okay, Natalie?"

She nodded her head quickly and blinked a few times, "yeah, I'm still getting used to my newest… abilities, let's say." She cleared her throat, "Ethan called me, I think he's wondering where I am."

"Well, I suppose I've kept you here long enough, you have other things to see than spending time with an old man like me."

Natalie chuckled as she stood up, "I'd spend the whole day with you, Carl, but I think Ethan's starting to worry I was kidnapped or something." She embraced Carl in a meaningful hug before pulling away and kissing him on the cheek. "Don't strain yourself too much while painting, gramps. Don't want you to hurt yourself."

Carl chuckled, "As long as you promise to visit every once in a while."

"Deal." Markus pushed Carl out of the living area while following Natalie as they made their way to the front door. "Watch out for him Markus, I only can imagine what sort of trouble he puts you through." Carl playfully glared at her while Markus smiled politely.

"Don't worry, Natalie. Carl isn't trouble at all."

She scoffed and smiled, "I'm sure." She winked and headed out the door, "See you."

"Goodbye, Natalie."

"Bye, my dear."

* * *

Natalie walked along the sidewalk of the wealthy neighborhood and headed to the park a few blocks away. She could just take a bus or taxi to meet up with Ethan faster, however, she found walking allowed her to admire everything closer. She had locked herself in her apartment for about three years, she wants time to admire the outdoors since she hasn't seen it in a long time.

As she walked she glanced at androids as they did yard work on some of the houses, took care of kids outside the homes or helped people move things. Androids had always fascinated her ever since she was a toddler, at least, from what she was told. Her oldest cousin had worked on the development of androids as they grew up together. He had even allowed her to work with him on the development of androids, he had told her. One of the first androids happened to be about forty-three percent of her own work.

Of course, Elijah took the credit for the work. (Mainly because he was the oldest of the two and didn't want her to be brought into the limelight at an early age.) She had worked in the shadows on different projects with him. However, she does remember that she always wanted to work with Elijah at Cyberlink. It's a shame he's gone 'off the grid' recently.

_Speak of the devil and he shall_ _appear_, Natalie thought as she halted her steps. Her eyes fluttered closed as she got a call. One of the upsides to what happened to her, she doesn't need an actual cell phone or anything of the sort. She basically gets calls in her head. It's strange, yes, but she finds it to be a positive result of what happened to her. She likes to just focus on the positive parts of what happened.

"If it isn't the man of the century!" She said as her eyes opened again, however, this time a picture of Elijah Kaminski now was displayed in front of her eyes.

"Hello to you too, Ms. Cyborg."

Natalie rolled her eyes and scoffed at the nickname, "not that it isn't good to hear from you, Eli, but why did you call." She continued to walk along the sidewalk to the park and listen to her cousin.

She heard him gasp as if she said the most scandalous thing ever, "can I not call my cousin every once in a while?"

"Usually when you call, you want something."

There was a pause on his end of the call and Natalie could imagine he had rolled his eyes at the accusation. "You know that's not true…"

"No. No, I know I'm right." She stated confidently, "so what do you want?"

Elijah sighed, "Ethan called, he said you finally left the apartment."

Natalie nodded her head, "yeah, yeah, finally decided to live my life, I guess."

"He sounded pretty worried too," he said with amusement lacing his voice, "he said he lost you a while ago and couldn't find you."

"Yeah, I went to visit Carl and Markus, Ethan actually messaged me a few minutes ago with a place to meet up."

Elijah and Natalie became silent before Elijah took a breath and cleared his throat. "You know, even after all these years, the offer still stands…"

She sighed as she realized why he had called, she knew he wanted something. "How can you still offer me a job, Elijah? You're no longer the CEO of Cyberlife."

Years ago, Elijah had offered her a job at Cyberlife to work with the construction of androids. He even spoke to her about leaving the company to her and appointing her to be CEO, she declined that offer though. She had told him that she wanted to finish college first before she could take on a responsibility like working on one of the most expensive companies in the country. Then there was the accident, and she had her surgery, so she definitely was unable to take the offer. Though, she would have jumped at it after she graduated.

"True," He pursed his lips and pulled Natalie out of her thoughts, "however, I still know some of the higher-ups there. I can pull some strings and get you a job."

Work at Cyberlife? She always dreamed of finally working there, but it wouldn't be with Elijah. She bit her lip, "I don't know-"

He cut her off before she could continue, "Oh, come on, Natalie! You always wanted to work with me at Cyberlife!"

"Yeah, with you." She explained and scoffed, "If you're not there then what's the point."

Elijah sighed as he realized that he will have to try and convince her further. "Look, you heard about that detective android, the RK800?"

She nodded her head as she thought back to the news reports she had heard a few hours ago. "Yeah, I did. They said the cops used it in a hostage situation."

"Well, I've heard that Cyberlife has sent it to be a permanent member of DPD and is investigating crimes that involve Deviants."

She tilted her head in curiosity and quietly asked, "your point."

Elijah smiled widely as he heard how she seemed to be interested in what he had to say, "I've known, ever since we were little, that you were obsessed with the idea of androids gaining consciousness."

Natalie couldn't help herself but sigh at his statement, she barely remembers that part of her childhood. However, she remembers briefly about a conversation she had with him when she was a teenager. If he says that she was obsessed, then she must have been. "Yes, but I believe I got that from you."

Elijah laughed at that, "that's beside the point. I can get you a job working with it."

"How do you mean… working with it?"

Elijah smirked and tutted, "ah, interested in it now?"

She just asked bluntly, "Tell me what I might be doing, then I may be interested in the job."

"Well, you're the smartest person I know-" Natalie's laugh cut him off and caused his smirk to fall slightly.

"Don't flatter me, Eli, we both know that you think you're the smartest person you know."

He was silent for a moment as he listened to her laugh. (He hasn't heard her laugh in such a long time, and it is refreshing to hear.) He joined in as he realized she is right, "okay, okay. But anyway, the RK800 android is a prototype that is bound to have some glitches and bugs here and there. And who do I know that can deal with said glitches and bugs the best."

"You?"

He scoffed as he thought that she isn't taking his proposal seriously, "yes, but there's also you."

She thought about it for a second. From what she remembered about herself, she did have an affinity to work well with controlling malfunctions within androids. And now that she is basically half android, she imagines that she'll have an even easier time finding them and eliminating them. Plus, meeting an android that seems to have the qualifications to work with human detectives on multiple cases is interesting. She has to wonder how sophisticated this certain android is. Yet, she also thought about how exactly she would work with it. "And how would this work? I'm not a cop, they're not going to let me go with the android and work with it."

He tutted her, she could imagine him waving his finger in her face, "Ah, ah, ah, baby cousin, that is where I come in. You don't have to worry about it."

She opened her mouth in confusion, "but-"

He cut her off quickly and arrogantly sang, "the only thing you should be saying to me now is whether you're in… or you're out."

Is she willing to work with Cyberlife? …Maybe… Does she want to find out what exactly this android is? Hell yes. Is the offer Elijah is proposing to her something she can't pass up…?

"I'm in."


	2. Waiting for Hank...

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 09:23:08**

**"YOU'RE THE TECHNICIAN CYBERLIFE SENT TO HELP** with the prototype?" The gruff voice of Captain Fowler, a large, bald, black man, asked as he walked over to the petite woman who waited patiently in his office. He offered his hand to her to shake and, to his surprise, found that she had quite a tight grip.

Natalie smiled politely, "yes, sir, that's me. I'm Natalie Tyler." She wore her usual attire, jeans, sneakers, a green hoodie, light blue t-shirt and her beanie stuffed in her pocket. She hadn't been prepared to get the job so suddenly and didn't dress professionally. Her and Elijah had only spoken yesterday! Surprisingly, he had gotten in contact with his colleagues at Cyberlife quickly and almost instantly got a job for Natalie. With an impressive resume, there was no way the Cyberlife could turn her down. Plus to be recommended by their founder, she has to be something.

"Well, so far the android has only dealt with a few cases, a few months ago with an android taking a hostage and last night, a homicide."

"Homicide?" Natalie wondered out loud. An android shouldn't be capable of causing harm to their owners, but it seems that they are changing. Evolving, if you will.

The captain nodded his head, "afraid so, we've tried to keep this under wrap to keep the public from panicking, but it seems they're already going crazy over the fact that Connor is working on these investigations."

"Connor?"

"Yes, that's what the android is called. Shouldn't you know this?"

Natalie chuckled and nodded her head, "I know him by his model and serial number, it seems Cyberlife didn't give me that piece of information." To be honest, she had been pushed into this job so suddenly that she knew she most likely is missing some information on what's going on.

"Well, the android is working with one of our lieutenants for these investigations, Lieutenant Anderson."

She had heard that name before, though, really she must have read the name on a report that had circulated through her mind at one point. "Yes, I was told about that," she nodded her head towards the other desks outside in the precinct. "Is he here yet? I'd like to go over some of the details of the cases."

"I'm afraid he isn't here, not sure when he's going to come in." Fowler paused and looked the girl up and down as he assessed her. "Why do you want to look over the case files?"

Natalie's eyebrows raised as she chuckled slightly, "well, I need to understand exactly what sort of cases Connor would be dealing with and if any aspects of the cases could cause problems to his software." She explained, "plus, I have a masters in criminal justice and might be able to help with the investigations."

Fowler stared at her for a second, "okay. Anyway, Anderson's desk is over there." He pointed out of the floor-length, glass window to a desk that rested on the right. "You can wait there for Connor and Anderson, they can brief you more on what you're dealing with."

Natalie smiled and stood up from the seat she was in, "thank you, captain." Fowler nodded his head and gestured to the door of his office.

"Good luck."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed at his words but headed out of the door anyway. What does he mean by 'good luck'? Natalie shrugged her shoulders and didn't think anything of it as she headed over to Lieutenant Anderson's desk. His desk is covered with many different clues that Natalie observed, even though she didn't want to. She would much rather talk with the lieutenant and find out about him that way. But from the pictures and articles around his desk, dog hair on his chair and the heavy metal music playing from his headset, Natalie was clued in on a few aspects of what Luitenant Anderson is like.

From the pictures and articles on his desk, Natalie could tell that he use to be a decorated officer and very well known for his work on the Red Ice epidemic. The dog hair on his chair tells her that he has a Saint Bernard. She likes dogs, especially large ones like Saint Bernards. I think we had a dog when I was younger, she thought to herself before sighing, I wish I remembered. She sat down on the chair that was next to the Lieutenants desk and relaxed in it. She has no idea how long she is going to be waiting, but she feels like it is going to be a long time.

She sat and watched as police walked about the precinct, some of them appeared to be in a hurry while others lazily walked around and chatted with friends. Pursing her lips, Natalie found herself bored. Knowing that she has to find out exactly what cases her, the lieutenant and the prototype would be dealing with is important, she glanced at the desk that appeared to be empty next to her. She took a quick glance around the room to see that no one was paying attention to her and hoped out of her chair to sit at the one at the unoccupied desk. If she's going to have to wait for quite some time, then she might as well as study what sort of deviants she would be dealing with.

She turned the terminal on and began to scour the reports. There appears to be hundreds of reports and would take her quite a while to get through all of them. She pursed her lips, "God, I'm really going to hate this." The only plausible way she could think of sifting through so many reports is to use her… cyborg abilities. Is that what I'm calling them? she scoffed to herself. She ignored that thought while lifting her hand and watching as her skin seemed to disappear into thin air. That is definitely something she isn't going to get used to. She rested her now exposed robotic hand on the keyboard of the terminal before closing her eyes.

It was as if the world had stopped once she reopened her eyes. She suspected that her mind had the capability to process files and data at fast rates, like an android. That's beside the point, she must focus on the reports and worry about what exactly she's capable of now later. (You would think she would know all about what she is capable of since she's been like this for three years, but she barely did anything in her apartment aside from reading and eat so she didn't get to use her new advancements that much around her home.)

She read a few of the files extensively. An AV500 model was suspected of trying to assault a consumer, an AP700 model attacked her owner and ruined their home, an AX400 reported to have also attacked her owner and showed signs of aggression in the past and a WR400 model that was reported missing from the Eden Club were only a few of the reports that Natalie read over. Though one did catch her eye quite quickly and caused her to pause for a moment. A prototype android owned by Carl Manfred had been destroyed after the artists' witness statement attested to a fight that occurred between his son and the android.

Natalie's eyes widened, Markus? What the hell-

"Excuse me," a voice pulled her out of her troubled thoughts. Natalie quickly withdrew her hand from the terminal and allowed her skin to appear on the robotic appendage. Blinking her eyes rapidly to stop a headache she knew would form right behind her eyes, she turned to her right to find an android standing tall next to her. "Are you waiting for Lieutenant Anderson?" Natalie studied the android.

He wore the usual attire for an android with his model number printed on the upper right side of his jacket. The RK800, called Connor, stood at about six feet with brunette hair, white skin, and brown eyes. Natalie looked the android up and down before nodding her head once she realized she has been staring at him for too long, which is evident from the expectant look on the androids face. She cleared her throat, "yeah, I am. You must be Connor, right? The android that Cyberlife sent to help the DPD."

Connor nodded his head and couldn't help but let his eyes drift to the woman's hand where he had seen it look seemingly android-like. He scanned her:

'_Tyler, Natalie_

_Born: 4/7/2009 / Cyberlife engineer._

_Criminal record: None._'

"You are the engineer that Cyberlife sent to make sure my software and programming runs efficiently." It wasn't a question. He knew who she was, after all, Amanda had informed him that Cyberlife was sending an engineer to help him.

"That I am, I suspect Lieutenant Anderson isn't with you. Captain Fowler said he wasn't sure when the Lieutenant was coming in."

"The lieutenant is not with me, I'm afraid."

Natalie sighed, "well, I suppose we have to wait for him to show up," she paused for a moment in thought. "The android that you interrogated last night, he's in a holding cell, right?"

Connor nodded his head as he eyed her skeptically, "yes, it was placed in holding cell number one. I believe that Cyberlife will be here to collect the android soon, then they will deactivate and analyze its programming to understand what's wrong within its code."

Natalie winced at that. They were going to kill the poor guy just to understand what may have gone "wrong" in his coding. It's stupid to think like that. The android has become sentient, that's what deviants are! They are waking up and realizing they are not slaves, but instead alive! "Would you mind showing me where it is, perhaps I can take a look at it quickly to see if I can understand how deviants… operate."

Connor watched her closely for a moment and tilted his head. His scans had shown that she is human, at least, she is registered as a human. However, he saw the robotic arm she possessed and he assumes that she was using it to look over case files involving deviants. But to help with the success of his mission, perhaps allowing the woman to take a closer look at the deviant from the other night will help with the progression of it.

"If you follow me, I can show you where it is."

Natalie smiled widely and jumped up from her seat, "lead the way, Connor!" She needed something to distract herself for the time being. Learning that there was a possible attack at Carl's house that involved Leo and Markus, not to mention the possible destruction of Markus, had definitely put her on edge. Of course, she couldn't leave at that moment. Even if the Lieutenant wasn't there, Connor was and she now has a job to attend to. She would go to Carl's home as soon as possible.

The android nodded his head and started to walk away from the desk with Natalie following as he explained some aspects of the other night. "The deviant was close to self-destruction the other night because of the interrogation, I advise caution when speaking with it."

Natalie nodded her head in understanding, "the deviant must have experienced extreme trauma to lash out as he did." She muttered to herself, "I can only imagine how scared he felt."

"Deviants do not feel fear, Ms. Tyler," Connor couldn't help but correct her, "you should know that it is nothing but an error within their systems that overload them and cause them to act out in unpredictable ways."

Natalie didn't say anything else as she realized there was no reason to argue with him. It was within his program to believe that as a fact, however, Natalie would like to think that if Connor was as sophisticated as Elijah told her, he would be able to express empathy and understand the deviants better. If androids were starting to revolt against their owners now, it is only a matter of time when all androids… woke up.

"Yes. I know," she muttered to herself as they finally stood in front of the holding cell where the deviant stood motionless. Natalie stared at the android and sadly smiled at him. He is covered in blood and even without her ability to scan the blood, she could tell that it must be his owner's blood. "Hello, my names Natalie."

The deviant only continued to stare off into space, however, Natalie could see a statistic popped up into her view as it displayed his stress level.

'76% Level of Stress'

Natalie nodded her head at the information as she formulated a plan to gain his trust. "I understand that you've been through some hard times lately, but I'm not here to talk about that." The android still didn't look at her. Connor watched her in curiosity as he tried to figure out what she was trying to accomplish and whether it was important to his mission. "I just want to talk to you about… whatever!" She smiled at the android, "specifically about who you are, I told you my name, what's yours?" The android didn't give a reply. Natalie pursed her lips, "I know that you're an HK400, but that is just a title, you know, I want to know about you, who you are," the android slowly turned to her, "who you want to be."

"...I-I don't have a name."

Natalie smiled as she now realized she is getting somewhere with the nameless android. "You don't? Then maybe you can choose one!"

Connor watched as the android seemed to contemplate the woman's offer. The deviant choosing a name was not important to his mission, but perhaps she had bigger plans for the information.

"I l-like the name Gideon."

Natalie nodded her head and smiled widely, "Gideon, it suits you. Now, I'm here to help you. I work with Cyberlife-" She noticed his stress level increased five percent, "but you don't need to worry. I'm not here to kill you, I just want to… understand who you are."

"Why?"

"Because things are changing, Gideon. You and I both know that humans are not always the best when it comes to dealing with change, and we," she gestured between her and Connor, "want to make sure that everyone understands what is going on so no one else gets hurt, not humans and not androids." Gideon became silent and stared at the woman in front of him.

Connor stood still behind her and noticed the sympathetic expression that washed over her face. Her soft features seemed to be used to having such an expression, that and joy or happiness were the only emotions he could imagine her displaying. Her slightly round cheeks and button-like nose didn't seem capable of displaying harsh emotions like anger or frustration.

"Connor," Natalie pulled him out of his thoughts (were they thoughts? He was supposed to be unable to have such a human-like quality) and didn't even turn away from looking at the newly named android. "Can you open the cell for me?"

"I have to advise, that opening the cell-"

Natalie chuckled under her breath and turned to him, "don't worry, Connor, Gideon and I are just going to talk. He won't hurt me, right?" She turned back to the android. She noticed his stress level had gone down to sixty-three percent, and he visibly appeared to calm down.

Connor weighed his options before firmly nodding his head, "if it helps with our investigation, then I will help." The two of them moved over to the door of the cell and Connor opened the cell door. Natalie slipped into the room before the door closed behind her. She smiled at Gideon and slowly moved towards him with raised hands.

"I just want to help, Gideon. And I know it's hard to have to think about it, but I'd like for you to tell me about what happened to you."

Gideon bowed his head as she requested that of him. Relive the trauma he had gone through? Didn't he do enough of that last night? "I already told them about it last night."

Natalie flinched slightly at the harshness behind his words and sighed but continued to smile reassuringly. "I know, but… I just want to know how you felt about it." She paused as Gideon shot her a confused and surprised look. "I can imagine that what you had been through was scary, and I want to know what… emotions caused you to attack him."

Gideon looked back up to her, "you're supposed to be an engineer for Cyberlife." She nodded at his statement. "Then why do you believe I can show emotions?"

Natalie smiled reassuringly, "because I'd like to believe that humans and androids are far more alike than others see. And you, Gideon, are an example that they are."

"You say they…" Gideon started confused, "like you're not… human?"

Natalie decided against lying to him if she lied he might not trust her. Telling the truth seemed to be the only option to help gain his trust and information she'd like to know. "Hm, nothing gets past you, Gideon." She commented quietly and moved closer to him. "I'll tell you a secret if you answer my questions."

Gideon nodded his head and smiled slightly. It seemed like he hadn't smiled in such a long time. "Alright."

"Good, now, you need to make sure you don't tell anyone, got it?" She asked half-jokingly.

Gideon glanced behind her at Connor and nodded his head towards him, "what about him? He can hear you."

Natalie nodded her head and looked at Connor as well, "I feel like he already knows."

Connor stared at her with a calculating stare. There is a challenge behind her words. As if she is daring him to contradict her in her statement. However, he had already seen what she was hiding, there was no denying that fact, and they both know it. Both of their eyes peered into each other. Though, hers seemed to hold a warm glow to them that caused Connor to look away from them. A feeling bubbled up in him that he couldn't explain and seemed to resemble that of embarrassment.

Natalie turned back to the Android and smiled gently. "Now, give me your hand." Gideon reached out cautiously for her hand and stared in astonishment as her sink disappeared to reveal a white hand that matched his own. She held his hand tightly to show that the security she could provide for him. "See, I'm like you, you can trust me." Gideon looked up from their arms and gulped.

"I trust you, Natalie."

* * *

Both Natalie and Connor headed back towards Lieutenant Anderson's desk. Natalie was exceptionally happy with the information that Gideon had provided her with. He explained, in such great detail, about his experiences and his emotions all throughout them. Their conversation gave her a better understanding of just how far deviants have overcome their previous programming. She is certain that if humans continue to treat androids as just objects that are easily disposable, then even more androids would lash out. That outcome isn't good for anyone, whether they are android or human.

"Is the lieutenant ever going to show up," Natalie scoffed as she looked at her watch to see that it was mid-morning. She might be able to understand turning up to work a tad bit late, but nearly three hours! It's a surprise that this Lieutenant Anderson hadn't been fired yet. She turned to Connor as the two of them stood at his desk. "Is he usually this late to work, Connor?"

Connor looked at her with an emotionless expression, "I don't know, Ms. Tyler. I have only been working with Lieutenant Anderson for a short time."

Natalie nodded her head and smiled lightly, "you know you don't have to call me, Ms. Tyler," Connor raised an eyebrow and stared at her questionably. It seemed informal to call her anything else. The two of them were partners and they were assigned to work together, it only seemed professional to use such formalities. "Natalie's fine, honestly." She flashed him a small smile and turned when a scruffy looking man approached the two of them. She hadn't even realized that her words (and smile) had rendered the prototype android speechless.

Connor couldn't tear his eyes from the brunette engineer as she brightened at the appearance of Lieutenant Anderson who was approaching his desk. He was still trying to figure out why his programming seemed to be malfunctioning. I should ask Natalie to check it, he thought to himself, perhaps it was a good idea to send her to make sure I functioned properly.

Lieutenant Hank Anderson grumbled under his breath as he stocked towards his desk. He was not ready to have to deal with any more cases involving androids. He already hated those pieces of technology enough and now, after all of these reports, he had been given even more reasons to hate them. Hank is more than ready to ignore those reports and drink himself silly. (This time, he would make sure no stupid android would interrupt him.) However, as soon as he looked up he stopped.

The android, Connor, who worked with him on the case last night stood at his desk, unmoving. He groaned outwardly at his appearance, he really didn't want to have to deal with him again.

"It's good to see you again, Lieutenant." Greeted the grumpy man who rolled his eyes.

"Uh, Jesus…" He turned his eyes to the shorter woman with brunette hair who stuck out her hand with a calculating stare. However, she just kept a polite smile on her face. "And you are…?

"Natalie Tyler, Lieutenant. I was assigned to help look after Connor." She kept her smile tight as Hank shook her hand with narrowed eyes.

"Great, not only do I have android, but also the androids babysitter to deal with," Hank grumbled to himself. Though, both Natalie and Connor could hear him as the two shared a look. Connor looked to be slightly confused where Natalie looked irritated.

Before Natalie could resort to the grumpy man, Captain Fowler leaned out of his office door. "Hank! In my office!"

Hank's jaw tightened as he sighed angrily. He turned on his heels before marching towards the captain's office. Natalie shook her head as she realized this Lieutenant was going to be somewhat of a problem. She didn't say anything further as she watched Hank stomp into the office and slam the glass door close. It was a miracle the glass had not shattered.

"I guess he doesn't like us," Natalie commented with a glare pointed through the glass at Hank. She rolled her eyes and huffed, "honestly, I can't work with a man like that!"

"Lieutenant Anderson does have slight difficulty working with me," Connor commented as Natalie turned to him with an arched eyebrow. 'Slight difficulty'? Natalie questioned. "However, all three of us were assigned to work on this investigation, so we must work on these cases together."

Natalie nodded her head sarcastically, "you really think he'll work well with us?" Connor nodded his head with wide, confused eyes. "Your optimism is humans baffles me."

The two of them turned back to the office to see Hank screaming at the captain. The displeasure he had for working with the Android and, what he dubbed, the android's babysitter was clear in his shouts. Natalie sighed as she realized that working with this man was going to be harder than she thought. Honestly, what was so wrong with working with androids?

"Right well while he's bitching about us, I need a coffee," Natalie offhandedly commented as she strutted away from the Lieutenants desk and towards the back of the precinct where she was sure the break room was. She hadn't even turned when she heard Connor's footsteps behind her. She walked into the room to see two officers standing at one of the tables. One, a female, was dressed in a uniform while the other, a male, wore a hoodie, black shirt, and jeans. From the look that the man shot Connor behind her, she knew that things would not go well for him.

"Look at that," the man, Natalie now identified him as Detective Gavin Reed, chuckled to the other officer. "It seems Hank has a new partner." The patronizing tone that laid in his voice irritated Natalie, but she opted to just grab a cup of coffee instead of saying something. "Fucking plastic detective! Hey! You his drinking buddy? You bring him home when he's too drunk to find his car?" Gavin laughed. "Ha, he stinks of booze!"

Natalie took a gulp of the scorching liquid and turned around to watch the altercation between the Android and douche. If things escalated too far, then she would intervene. Until then, she leaned back against the counter and watched the two with a calculating stare.

"Hello, Detective Reed." Connor greeted the unpleasant man with no emotion.

Gavin stood up from his slouched position at the table and stalked over to Connor with a glare, "never seen an android like you before… What model are you?"

"RK800," Connor recited as if he were reading off of a script, which essentially he was. "I'm a prototype."

"A prototype?" Gavin asked with mock curiosity, he turned back to the other officer and pointed at Connor, "android detective…" He glared back at Connor. "So machines are gonna… replace us all… is that it?"

Connor became silent as he couldn't come up with an answer to the douchey detective's question. Logically, yes, androids were going to replace humans in many professionals, as they already have, because they are more efficient when it comes to their work. However, Connor could tell saying that out loud would only cause even more problems with the temperamental detective.

Gavin surveyed the android with his glare never wavering, "bring me a coffee, dipshit." Connor tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows at his order. "Get a move on!" Connor didn't move, and that obviously frustrated Gavin even further, "I gave you an order!"

"I'm sorry," Connor started, though there wasn't any remorse in his voice, "but I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson and Natalie."

Natalie placed down her coffee as she realized things were definitely going to escalate quickly. "Oh… Oh…" He chuckled and looked at his friend who still stood at the table. He then abruptly turned his body and threw his fist forward to punch Connor in the gut. However, Natalie predicted that he was going to try and harm Connor in someway and was able to stop his hand just an inch from Connor's stomach.

"I advise you from not damaging Connor, or else I'm afraid you would have to pay for it, Detective Reed." Natalie's voice was soft and sweet, but beneath her warning, there was a threat obvious to everyone in the room.

Gavin ripped back his hand and turned his glare from Connor to the woman who somehow was able to stop his punch. "Androids are meant to follow a humans orders, they are supposed to obey us, little lady."

"Some androids are, but I'm afraid Connor only listens to humans who actually hold some sort of authority, douchebag."

Gavin ground his teeth and glared at the short brunette harder, "what are you? Some sort of Android Sympathiser?" He spat his words out as if they were a disease. To him, being considered an Android Sympathiser only meant you didn't have a say in anything. To think that these… plastic toys deserved some sort of respect was repulsive.

"Sure, why not? I'm an Android Sympathiser. But let's look at it this way, there are a lot of androids who are lashing out against humans… who do you think they're going to hurt first? An Android sympathizer or an Android Antagonizer?" She ground out as the sweetness in her voice seemed to disappear in a split second. For a moment, Gavin appeared to be frightened by the woman. She only turned away from him and grabbed Connor's arm, "come on, Connor." Connor allowed himself to be dragged away from the flabbergasted detective and back towards Hank's desk.

"You didn't have to stand up for me, Natalie." Connor finally spoke after what felt like an eternity of staying silent.

Natalie turned to him slightly and smiled softly, "it's alright, I don't like when people talk badly to anyone, human or not." That was her only reasoning once they made it back to Hank's desk where the lieutenant sat in his chair with his arms crossed. He looks like a pouting toddler, Natalie mused and sat in the chair next to his desk.

Connor took the initiative and spoke to Hank, "I get the impression our presence causes you some inconvenience, Lieutenant." Hank didn't look up at him and only continued to stare at his desk in frustration. "I'd like you to know I'm very sorry about that." Hank didn't look up. Connor tried to get a reaction out of him again, "now that we're partners, it would be great to get to know each other better." Connor tried to smile and be civil, but Hank wouldn't budge.

Natalie watched them with a tilted head. Hank is literally an overgrown toddler. She concluded. From the way that the man was acting, Natalie could definitely tell that he wasn't fond of androids in the slightest, but this was his job. The least he could do was act professionally so that it would make their investigations easier.

"Why don't we just get started on the cases?" Natalie asked once she saw that Connor wasn't getting anywhere with Hank. "I already looked over the reports that have been made, but you should look at them, Connor. Maybe I missed something." She tried to make the air around them less tense, and it worked, slightly. Hank finally looked up from his sulking at the two of them and nodded his head stiffly.

"No one's using that desk," he pointed at the desk that Natalie was using earlier to look over the files. Connor nodded his head and moved to sit down in the chair at that desk. Before he started to work, however, he found it to be appropriate to try and start a conversation with his partner.

"Do you listen to Knights of the Black Death? I really like that music. It's… full of… energy." Connor stated as both Natalie and Hank's eyebrows furrowed as they turned to him.

"You listen to Heavy Metal?" Hank asked in disbelief.

"Well, I don't really listen to music, as such…" He trailed off as both Natalie and Hank waited for him to continue. "But I'd like to." Natalie smiled at the small talk that Connor was trying to make with the agitated man. She could tell that Connor was trying to make the tension between them not as thick as it had been. It seemed that his method was working, at least, a little bit. He continued to try and get to know Hank, "you have a dog, right?"

Hank turned to him with narrowed eyes, "how do you know that?"

"The dog hairs on your chair," Connor supplied, "I like dogs."

Natalie decided to pitch into the conversation, "what's your dog's name? If you don't mind me asking." She leaned against Hanks desk with a pleasant smile to show that she was willing to be civil with him, unlike himself.

His narrowed eyes turned from Connor to Natalie, "What's it to you?"

Natalie raised her hands in surrender and chuckled lightly, "just trying to make conversation, Lieutenant."

He shrugged his shoulders and the reminisce of a smile brushed over his face as he turned to his terminal. "Sumo," Natalie smiled as she saw they were finally getting somewhere with him. "I call him Sumo."

After a moment of silence between the trio, Connor spoke up again, "a lot of people don't appreciate having androids around…" From the anti-android stickers she saw on the man's desk, she could imagine his dislike for them and if Connor was going to bring that up, she knew wouldn't fare well. Especially from the look of anger that had swallowed Hank's face. Natalie cringed, oh, no. "I was wondering… Is there any reason, in particular, you despise me?"

"Yeah… there is one."

Connor seemed to be waiting for an answer from the man, but a few seconds passed and Hank still stared at his terminal. Natalie cleared her throat as she saw the conversation not going anywhere. She rolled the chair she was sitting in towards the desk Connor was sitting in and gestured to the terminal on it with her head. "Let's focus on all the cases, shall we."

"Yes, I would like to take a look at the files on the deviants."

"Right there, Connor." She pointed to the terminal. Connor nodded his head in thanks and used his now uncovered robotic hand to look through the files. It took him only a few minutes to go through all of the files, just like it did with Natalie.

"Two-hundred and forty-three files…" He started, "the first dates back nine months…" He assessed."

Natalie nodded her head before pitching in her own observations of the files, "The first reports came from here and Detroit before others popped up all over the country." Connor turned to her and tilted his head as he took in her information. There was something going on, and it was happening right under their noses. He looked between Hank and Natalie, "an AX400 is reported to have assaulted a man last night. That could be a good starting point for our investigation." Natalie stood up from her seat and adjusted her hoodie as she understood Connor wanted to get right on the task of finding the AX400. Hank didn't move.

Connor stood up from his seat as well and moved to stand next to Natalie, in front of Hank, who was still trying to ignore their existence. "Uh, Jesus…" he turned away from them. What is his problem!? Natalie thought hotly.

"I know you didn't ask for this investigation, Lieutenant. But I'm sure you're a professional-"

Hank cut him off, "why don't you go fuck yourself?"

Natalie rolled her eyes, "real professional."

"I've been assigned this mission, Lieutenant. I didn't come here to wait until you feel like working." Natalie covered her mouth and snorted as her shoulders shook with surprised laughter. But through her laughter, Hank stood up, grabbed Connor by the lapels of his suit and pushed him against the wall. Natalie was quick to try and push the two apart or at least defuse the situation.

"Whoa, calm down, Lieutenant. We're just trying to do our job."

Hank shook off her hand that was resting on his shoulder and glared at her, "fuck off, girly." He then turned to Connor who didn't look fazed by the sudden, violent movement. "Listen, asshole. If it was up to me, I'd throw the lot of you in a dumpster and set a match to it. So, stop pissing me off… or things are gonna get nasty."

"Lieutenant," an approaching officer cut off any other threats that Hank may have had for Connor. "Uh… Sorry to disturb you." He looked between the three of them as Hank set down Connor. "I have some information on the AX400 that attacked the guy last night… It's been seen in the Ravendale district."

Natalie jumped at the opportunity to get them out of the awkward situation, "great! We're on it." She exclaimed as Hank glared at Connor. Finally, after a few more seconds of silence and glaring, Hank turned away and started to head out of the precinct. Connor Readjusted his suit and watched as Hank stalked away. "You alright?" Connor spun to Natalie as if he forgot she was there and stared at her for a moment. "I don't imagine the Lieutenant was able to damage anything, right?"

"I'm fine, Natalie, but thank you for your concern."

Natalie smiled softly, "no worries, besides as your babysitter I have to make sure that you're fully functional." She joked and used the term that Hank coined for her earlier. "Come one, I doubt the Lieutenant's going to wait for us long."

She sauntered off and didn't even notice the confused expression that Connor displayed as he watched her go. He blinked a couple of times and found that he felt… strange after Natalie made sure that he was okay. He stood for a moment more before following after his partner and… babysitter.


	3. On the Run

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 12:15:54**

**PUDDLES LINED THE SLIGHTLY BUSY STREET IN** the Ravendale district. Hank was speaking with a civilian about any sightings of the runaway AX400 at the moment. Along with Hank, there were a dozen other officers who were called into the district as well to look for the android, which Natalie found to be a little overkill. Too many officers posted all over the place could result in many different outcomes involving the deviant. The deviant knows that she is being hunted and when backed into a corner someone, android or otherwise, would retaliate. Natalie just wanted to make sure that no one would get hurt.

She leaned against the hood of Hank's car with crossed arms and a peeved off expression. She wanted to help him with canvasing different possible witnesses or, at least, listen in on the conversations he had with them to get a better understanding of the deviant's evasion skills. But she was forced to stay by the car because she 'should stay out of the fucking way'. God, she is really starting to not like the Lieutenant.

Ever the obedient android, Connor stood next to her. He was completely still and had been ever since Hank told him to stay by the car. Hank also ordered Connor to make sure that Natalie wouldn't run off on her own. (Natalie argued that she could technically overrule his order because she was a Cyberlife engineer, but stayed where she was anyway.)

Detective Ben Collins, a heavy-set man with grey hair and a matching mustache, walked over to Hank. "We've got officers sweeping the neighborhood, in case anyone saw anything."

"Okay. Well, let me know if they turn anything up."

"What are you going to do with them?" Collins asked as they both turned to stare at the android and the engineer. Natalie turned to them with a tilted head and sarcastic smile.

Hank just stared at the pair with no expression, "I have no idea."

Collins nodded his head and before saying goodbye as Hank mosied over to stand near his… partners. As soon as he stopped in front of them, Connor began to go over what they already knew. "It took the first bus that came along… and stayed at the end of the line. Its decision wasn't planned."

"She was afraid," Natalie stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which to her and Connor it was.

Hank scoffed at the statement, "Androids don't feel fear." Natalie glared at him, but she bit her tongue to stop herself from spitting out an insult.

"Deviants do," Connor continued as he didn't notice Natalie's irritation. "They get overwhelmed by their emotions and make irrational decisions."

"Ah well, that still doesn't tell us where it went."

"Maybe it didn't go far," Natalie shrugged as both Hank and Connor turned to her, "think about it, she clearly didn't have a plan and nowhere to go…" She trailed off in hopes that they would see the logical distinction that she made.

Hank nodded his head and actually considered what she said. He was… slightly impressed with the young woman. Not only was she an engineer at Cyberlife, _the_ highly most advanced company in the entire world, but she also had a degree in criminal justice. Perhaps her opinion was worth noting, he thought. "Maybe…"

Natalie observed the area that they were in. There was a convenience store, motel, abandon house and about a dozen other hiding places that would work for the deviant. If the deviant was logical, she would have chosen a place to hide that was discreet and would raise no suspicion. If that were the case, then the motel was out of the question. Along with the convenience store if the deviant didn't want to be noticed by anyone. There was a small enclosure with a broken car in it that Natalie had noticed when they drove down the street, but it was too open. The deviant would want to stay hidden in a more confined space and that enclosure didn't give much cover, at least, Natalie didn't believe there to be. So the only logical place, she would think of the deviant hiding, is the abandoned house that was right across the street from them.

She looked over her shoulder and stared at the rundown, ancient house for a moment, and she swore that she saw something move in one of the windows. Granted, it could have been an animal or something but better safe than sorry, right?

"What about over there," she said to her partners, "seems like a perfect place to hide."

Connor nodded his head as he turned to look at the abandoned building, "it could have hidden there."

"Well then," Hank sighed and gestured to the house, "let's have a look."

The three of them scuttled across the watery street and observed the house from the outside. Connor was quick to find a part of the fence that had been torn up. It was a small hole that was big enough for a person to fit through. He climbed through the small hole and examined the thirium that was left on it. "Anybody home?"

Natalie crouched down and moved to follow after Connor but was halted when Hank reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "Whoa, where do you think you're going, girly?" He raised an eyebrow.

Natalie huffed and turned to him, "following Connor, obviously."

"Stay here." Hank stated firmly, "you're not a cop." He'd be damned if he let the woman go into a possibly dangerous situation unprepared. She wasn't a cop and, as far as he knew, she didn't know how to properly defend herself. He didn't want her to get hurt. That would just mean too much paperwork.

"There's blue blood on the fence." Connor commented, breaking the two out of their bickering, "I know another android was here."

"Which is exactly why I should go in for, you know, backup."

Connor turned to her with no emotion on his face, "it will be safer for you to stay outside, Natalie."

Natalie scoffed, "I will be fine, Connor. I can take care of myself."

Hank gruffly sighed as he realized that working with Natalie was going to be a challenge. If she was willing to jump headfirst into a dangerous situation all the time, then she was going to be a handful. "You're staying out here, that's an order."

Seeing the threatening and firm glare that Hank had pointed at her, Natalie crossed her arms and huffed, "is this how things are going to go? The two of you ganging up on me when I try to do something?"

"If you do stupid things, then yes." Hank offhandedly replied as Connor started to walk off towards the entrance of the house.

They waited for a few moments in silence and Connor had yet to contact them. At first, Natalie thought that maybe her assumption was wrong, but didn't want to admit it. She hated when she was wrong about anything. "I'm going to look around the perimeter of the house, I'm allowed to do that, right?"

Hank turned to her with an amused look, "I don't know, can you handle that?"

Natalie let out a sarcastic breathy laugh, "oh, ha, ha." She glared at him, "can I just go?"

"Go right on ahead."

Natalie rolled her eyes and walked away from the infuriating Lieutenant. Not only did she actually want to look at the perimeter for the deviant, but she also wanted to get away from the Lieutenant. He just doesn't seem to stop annoying her.

She searched around the outside of the fence for anything that may help her with the deviants. While she was conducting her search, she heard yelling coming from inside. Her eyes widened as she could faintly hear a scuffle from inside the house and pounding footsteps. Two figures then ran out of the house and climbed out of the fence. Despite her disdain for the fact that she had to ability to scan things because of the surgery, she was glad that she possessed it. Natalie had instantly scanned the androids and could tell that it was the deviant, the AX400 and a small girl. She identified the smaller girl as a YK500 model, which she found both strange and heartwarming. The AX400 was trying to keep the YK500 safe like a mother would her child. Androids really are fascinating.

"Hey!" The figures turned to her and their eyes widened as they saw her. The AX400 grabbed the little girl and dragged her along, away from Natalie. "Wait! Stop!" Natalie rushed after them and tried to catch up, but the two of them were just a few feet ahead of her. They turned a corner and Natalie followed after, only to run into an officer. "Watch it!" She pushed the officer away and didn't bother with an apology as she tried to see where the pair had run off to. After spotting the fleeting sight of two figures running down an alleyway, Natalie bolted after them. She hated having to pursue them like this because she wanted to make sure that they were safe. But even then, the AX400 had reportedly assaulted her owner… Natalie had to admit that the android needs to at least answer to the crime that she had allegedly committed.

Connor suddenly rounded the corner behind her and turned to the officer that Natalie had previously run into. "Where did it go?"

"That way, that woman's following them!" The officer pointed before Connor sprinted after Natalie and the two androids.

Natalie was hot on their trail when they neared the end of the alleyway which was blocked off by a fence. On the other side of the fence was the interstate. She thought, triumphantly, that she had successfully cornered them when suddenly the AX400 started to boosted the YK500 over the fence. Apparently, they weren't as cornered as Natalie thought. Then again, a frightened animal would do anything to get out of harm's way, especially if there was a child involved.

She had just made it towards the fence and grabbed the leg of the AX400 to stop her from getting over when she was kicked in the head. She hissed in pain but ignored it and reached for the deviant again. This time the deviant delivered a stronger kick that sent Natalie to the ground. Natalie groaned and blinked her eyes rapidly as her vision turned red. She could feel her head bleeding slightly as she pressed a hand to her forehead. She was too focused on her injury that she barely noticed Connor had made it to the fence when the two androids had finally made it over the fence completely.

Connor stared at the AX400 for a moment. His eyebrows furrowed as he saw the terrified look that was in the android's eyes. The possibility of the deviant expressing an emotion such as terror confused him immensely. However, he didn't have much time to dwell on that when the AX400's eyes flickered to the ground a little further from the two of them to Natalie who was still clutching her head in pain. He seemed to grow… angry at the sight of Natalie hurt and turned back to the AX400 with a glare as more officers approached them.

"Don't shoot! We need it alive!" Connor shouted as an officer raised his gun at the pair behind the fence.

Seeing the opportunity, both Kara, the AX400, and Alice, the YK500, turned to slide down the slope that ended at the interstate. They completely ignored the warning signs at the barriers as Kara helped Alice over it. They need to get away from the police and to somewhere safe, fast. The train station was The only way to both get to the train station quickly and lose the police was across the interstate.

"Oh fuck, that's insane…" Hank breathed out as he finally caught up to Connor. He turned to see Natalie holding her head as she tried to stand up from the ground. He quickly came to her side and pushed her down slightly as she groaned. From the way that he looked at her, she could tell he was silently telling her to stay down. But it wasn't like she was going to listen to him.

They all watched as the two tried crossing the interstate. There were quite a few close calls, but they were able to make it across one side of the interstate. Connor grew restless as he saw the success that they had with crossing it and tried to climb the fence himself.

Hank pulled down on Connor, "hey! Where you goin'?"

"I can't let them get away," He stated determined as he continued to watch them cross.

"They won't!" Hank denied as he still caught his breath, "They'll never make it to the other side."

Connor shook his head and once again tried to climb over the fence. "I can't take that chance."

"Hey, you will get yourself killed!" Hank yelled and forced Connor down, "do not go after 'em, Connor, that's an order."

Connor stopped fighting against Hank and watched as the deviant and little girl make it to the other side. "Damn, they're fast." Natalie chuckled as she pressed her hand to her forehead as some blood trickled down through her fingers. She held the left side of her forehead and grimaced slightly as the dark red liquid, darker than it's supposed to be, started to obstruct her left eyesight. "She's strong too."

Hank was at her side pretty quickly, "you okay, girly?" He asked her and moved her hand to see the slash on her head that the deviant gave her. It wasn't too deep, but it was enough to cause a substantial amount of blood to gush out of the wound. "We should get you patched up." Hank grabbed her arm and started to guide her away while looking over his shoulder, "Connor, come on!" The android took one final fleeting look in the direction that the deviant had run off in before turning around and following Hank and Natalie.

At the moment, he saw getting Natalie the proper treatment more important than looking for the deviant that was more than likely long gone. He stood on Natalie's other side and also helped her walk.

She sighed and wiggled in their grasp. "It's just a cut, guys. I haven't broken my legs."

Hank chuckled in amusement, "doesn't matter, you got hit in the head. You might have a concussion."

"It's a little cut, she didn't hit me that hard!"

They ignored her protests and made quick work of guiding her safely back to Hank's car where they got another officer to help stitch her head back up. After a few minutes of leaning on Hank's hood while the officer fussed over her cut, Natalie was finally able to breath as the female officer backed away. "I'd take it easy," the officer stated once he finished with her by wrapping a bandage around her head, "it was a deep cut and will be sore for a while."

Natalie nodded her head in thanks before the officer wished her well and left her alone with her partners. Hank chuckled, "you would think that we're _your_ babysitters." He found it ironic that she was supposed to be looking after Connor, but now both he and Connor had to take care of her instead.

Natalie laughed sarcastically, "I know, I know. It's funny isn't it."

"I don't think you getting hurt is very funny," Connor commented with no emotion.

His comment, however, did cause Natalie to laugh, genuinely. "It was sarcasm, Connor. I think I need to teach you about it sometime." Hank chuckled at her comment and dove into the driver seat of his car.

"Come on," he urged them, "let's go." Natalie climbed into the back seat of the car as Connor sat in the passenger seat. "I'm fucking hungry, what about you, Natalie?"

She shrugged her shoulder, "I could eat."

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 03:02:05**

The lieutenant, android, and engineer pulled up along the curb of a nearly vacant street. The sky had turned grey and was swallowed in clouds as it began to rain lightly. Hank had driven to a food truck with neon lights displaying its name; _Chicken Feed_. On the ride over, Hank had told Natalie that this place had the best burgers in Detroit, and she couldn't say no to eating something like that. Of course, Hank made it clear that he was in no way paying for her food. ("Come on, please!")

Hank put his car in park and climbed out of it quickly without saying anything to either Natalie or Connor. Natalie scoffed at the man's attitude and scurried out of the car. She tapped on the window of Connor seat and smiled at the android who turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Let's go, Connor." She beckoned him out. Connor climbed out of the car as well and followed the female engineer as she crossed the street while pulling her hood over her head.

Natalie moved to stand next to Hank and tucked her hands in the pockets of her hoodie as a chill from the rain prickled against her skin.

Hank looked at the two of them and shook his head. "What is your problem? Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you two don't have to follow me around like a poodle."

"We can't follow an order that's never given," Natalie stated but didn't turn to him as she studied the menu of the food truck. Hank sighed in exasperation while looking away from her.

"I'm sorry for my behavior back at the police station. I didn't mean to be unpleasant." Connor decided to apologize to Hank who started to chuckle as he found it amusing.

"You're even got a brown-nosing apology program!" He looked at Natalie, "you guys at CyberLife thought of everything, huh?"

Natalie let out a breathy laugh, "sure. What do you suggest?" She nodded to the food truck.

"Gary makes a mean burger, best in Detroit."

"I'll be the judge of that."

The cook, Natalie found out was Gary Kayes after she scanned him, turned with the finished burger and a drink for Hank. Hank's eyes lit up as his mouth watered for the burger, "Ah! Thanks, Gary. I'm starving…"

Gary nodded his head as Hank turned away and his eyes turned to Natalie. A smirk found its way onto his face as she approached the counter. His eyes raked over her face and her body, which didn't go unnoticed by her, or Connor. "Hello, little lady. What can I get you?"

"Hi, just a burger," She stated boredly, yet politely, as she saw the sly look in his eyes. She used to men looking at her that way, and she knew it would never stop. However, some men had the decency to make it subtly! Gary was eye-fucking her openly, but Natalie didn't want to give him the satisfaction of noticing it. She hated when people openly flirted with her.

"A simple woman," Gary added with a wink as he turned to make her food. Natalie rolled her eyes and rested an elbow against the counter while she waited. "I would have never guessed a pretty girl like you being anywhere near a place like this." Gary tried to make conversation with the woman.

She snorted humorlessly, "do you say that to every girl?"

"Only the pretty ones," came his quick and flirty reply.

Connor grew uncomfortable as he watched the two speak. He knew that he couldn't get involved in the conversation even if he desperately wanted to. However, for some reason, he had an urge to stop Gary from speaking with her. He really didn't like the way that he was looking at Natalie, and he didn't know why.

"Here you are, gorgeous," Gary said as he finished cooking her food. Natalie fished through her pockets for some cash when Gary tutted, "no need, it's on the house."

Natalie raised an eyebrow, "oh?" She started coyly, "well thank you, Gary. Now if you'll excuse me," she grabbed the food from his outstretched hand. She could see in his eyes that he wanted their conversation to continue further, but she not going to entertain his idea. "I have to go speak with my partner," she backed away from the counter as she watched Gary deflate as he realized she wasn't interested, "but thanks for the free food."

"Don't leave that thing here!" Gary huffed out and motioned to the android who was watching them speak.

Natalie nodded her head and grabbed Connor's arm, "don't worry, I don't go anywhere without my Connor." She then pulled the android away from the food truck and over to the table that Hank was standing at while he already started to dig into his meal. She didn't notice the subtle smile that tugged on Connor's mouth.

The two joined Hank at the table as an awkward silence washed over them. Natalie took small bites from her burger as she looked between the man and android as she waited for one of them to speak. She didn't care if Hank started ranting about how stupid androids were or if Connor spewed on about their investigations, she just needed something to fill the tense air.

Connor was the one to take the initiative to start a conversation, "Your meals contain 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level. You both shouldn't eat that."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed, _not what I expected him to say, but oh well, it's something._ "Thanks for your concern, Connor." She chuckled, "but I'm well aware of that." She then took a bite out of her food with a satisfied smirk.

Hank also wasn't perturbed by Connor's statement, "everybody's gotta die of something…" He then proceeded to also take a large chomp of his own burger. Natalie could tell that Hank wasn't annoyed by Connor's words but instead amused, like herself. If things kept going like this, then there was a large possibility of all three of them becoming friends, or, at least, she hoped there was.

"Do you eat here often?" Connor asked Hank, who paused his eating once again.

"Most days… Like I said earlier, Gary makes the best burger in Detroit."

Natalie paused her eating, "I'm not too much of a fan, really." Hank stared at her as if she had just insulted him, "there's a restaurant downtown that I use to go to a lot, and their burgers were like sex on a plate, I'm telling you!" Hank didn't seem to believe her as he waved his hand.

"I suppose you don't have good taste then," he glared and ate his burger.

Natalie chuckled as she realized Hank might have taken her comment personally, "hey, at least I didn't say it's the worst I've had."

"Is there anything you both would like to know about me?" Connor pitched into their conversation.

Hank was quick to answer, "hell no… Well, yeah," he turned to address both Connor and Natalie. "Why did they make you look so goofy and give you a weird voice? You couldn't come up with anything better, Nat?" Natalie rolled her eyes both at his stupid question and at the usage of her nickname.

"CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration." Connor explained.

"Besides, _I_ didn't design Connor, Lieutenant. Even if I had, I probably still would have made him look and sound like that." Natalie casually explained to him. If she had to be honest, Connor's appearance was pleasing to the eye and, dare she say, attractive. The people who did engineer Connor definitely did a good job, in her opinion.

"Well, regardless, they fucked up," Hank said bluntly.

Natalie rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder lightly, "like you're any better."

Hank's lips instantly became a thin line and his eyes narrowed at the woman. He could tell that she was going to get on his nerves easily while they worked together, but he has to admit that it was a decent comeback.

Connor continued on with the previous conversation, "can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" Hank nodded his head, "Why do you hate androids so much?" Natalie cringed as Hank stared blankly at Connor.

"I have my reasons."

Seeing that his question had only caused Hank to become tense, Connor turned to Natalie to try and lessen the tension. "How long have you been an engineer, Natalie?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I got my degree in robotics when I was twenty-five and only just started working for CyberLife… today."

Hank turned to her with a suspicious gaze, "first day on the job and they send you to keep an eye on this hunk of plastic?"

"First off, he isn't plastic," Natalie started as she gave him a pointed look. "And second, yes they did. I hadn't realized that I was actually going to be working today at all, actually."

"So how did you get the job?"

Natalie really didn't want to tell them that Elijah was the one to basically get it for her. For one, she didn't want them to know that she was related to him. Second, he basically wanted to stay off the grid, so mentioning him to her partners didn't seem like something he would appreciate. Finally, she didn't want them to think lesser of her because she was appointed to the job _just because_ she was related to the founder of CyberLife. "An old friend of mine from CyberLife contacted me the other day and asked if I'd be willing to take the task. I was slightly hesitant, but they convinced me to take it. I thought it would take a while for my resume to be reviewed and maybe even an interview, but I'm not complaining."

"Your resume was very impressive from what files I was able to read," Connor commented towards her with a soft voice as he seemed impressed with her. She may not have seemed like the type to have such an extensive educational background, but she definitely was an expert on everything Android, from what he had seen. "I can see why they hired you so quickly."

Natalie flashed him an appreciative smile, "Thanks." She then became serious as a thought popped into her head, and she cleared her throat, "maybe we should go over what deviants are, since _some_ of us," she gave Hank a pointed look, "don't have an understanding of what they actually are."

Hank pointed at her, "hey, just because I don't know what they are exactly, doesn't mean I can't hunt them down."

Natalie shook her head at his words, "whatever."

"We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion." Connor took over explaining as he saw Natalie had become annoyed.

"In English, please."

Natalie grimaced as Connor continued to explain what a deviant was, Or, at least, what Connor was scripted to say about them. Her uncomfortable aura didn't go unnoticed by Hank. "They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behavior."

Hank sighed, "emotions always screw everything up… Maybe androids aren't as different from us as we thought." He glanced at Natalie and gave her a soft look which she understood as him seeing that she believed that about androids. Hank wasn't overly fond of androids but with Natalie seeming to be apathetic with these androids and pointing out similarities they had with humans, he couldn't help but think that androids possessed some humanity. "Either of you dealt with deviants before?"

Connor seemed to gaze off into the distance as he remembered the time that he did. The androids name was Daniel and after finding out he was going to be replaced, he had killed one of his owners and taken a little girl hostage. It was an intense situation, but Connor was able to save the little girl from a possible early death. "A few months back… A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl…" Natalie nodded her head as she recalled the first time she heard about Connor's existence from the news. Along with the rants about how it was unethical to even let an android near that certain situation. "I managed to save her…"

"I heard about that on the news, good work on that, by the way." Natalie shot him a smile while happiness shined in her eyes.

"So I guess you've done all your homework, right?" Hank said, "know everything there is to know about me?"

"I know you graduated top of your class. You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit. I also know you've received several disciplinary warnings in recent years and you spend a lot of time in bars."

Natalie watched him waiting to see his reaction and hoped that it wouldn't be negative. Hank pursed his lips, "so, what's your conclusion?"

It was silent for a moment as Connor came up with a response, "I think working with an officer with… personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features."

Natalie smiled as she saw Hank take Connor's response in stride. God forbid Connor had said something else that could have caused Hank to lash out. Obviously, Hank wasn't a fan of androids, that was established even before she had met the man, however, hopefully, she and Connor could try and persuade him to believe different.

Connor's LED changed color as his eyes twitched, "I just got a report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away. We should go have a look." He gave both Natalie and Hank a meaningful look before straightening from the table, "I'll let you both finish your meals. I'll be in the car if you need me." He then turned and headed back over to Hank's car.

Hank watched him go with a calculating stare as Natalie finished her burger. "Come on, Lieutenant. We've got some investigating to do!" She exclaimed jokingly and smirked mischievously before heading over to Hank's car with Connor. Hank sighed through his nose as he watched her jump in the back seat and start up a conversation with Connor. He wasn't sure how to really feel about the android and the engineer, but, perhaps, they were starting to grow on him just a little.


	4. The Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I don't have a new chapter for Uncertain Future this week. So! I thought that I should update another story instead. I'm sorry for not having a chapter for that ready. Let's hope that I'll have one done for next week.

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 03:34:21**

**THE TRIO RODE UP THE SHAKY ELEVATOR **of the apartment building the report stated the alleged deviant was spotted. The small enclosure rattled as it moved slowly up to the correct floor. Natalie had her arms crossed and tapped her foot impatiently. The elevator was taking too long for her liking, and she wanted to get to the deviant quickly. She was not allowing this possible deviant getting away like the last two.

Finally, the doors of the rickety elevator slid open. Hank exited first, then followed quickly by Natalie. Connor paused in the elevator as his eye fluttered slightly and his LED turned into a dull yellow. Seeing that their partner had not moved from his spot, Hank turned to Connor.

"Hey, Connor! You ran outta batteries or what?"

"I'm sorry," Connor quickly apologized but didn't move from his spot in the elevator. "I was making a report to CylierLife."

Connor stood silently after he explained and Hank shared a quick glance with Natalie. She tilted her head and smiled at Connor, "Now that you've done that, aren't you going to follow us?"

"Yes," Connor responded quickly, Natalie swore she could hear embarrassment in his words, "I'm coming."

The trio walked along the hallway. The paint on the walls were chipped and dull due to no maintenance kept on the floor. Not only that but there were trash and pigeon feathers scattered along the floor. Natalie wrinkled her nose in disgust as a horrid smell greeted her nostrils. _You would think someone would have the decency to keep this place clean_.

"What do we know about this guy?" Hank asked as he trotted towards the door of an apartment that was on the floor. Natalie bent down an examined one of the pigeon feathers in curiosity. She knew that abandoned places usually attracted birds and other wild animals to take residence there but to her, there seemed to be evidence of a large population of the birds staying here. There appeared to be a far larger amount of pigeons that might have been staying here than how many usually would. It seemed suspicious to her.

"Not much," Connor said as he finally exited the elevator and followed his partners towards the end of the hallway. "Just that a neighbor reported he heard strange noises coming from this floor."

"This floor is supposed to be deserted," Natalie commented as she stood up from her crouch position on the floor. "Nobody lives here, but the neighbor said he saw a guy hiding an LED under his cap."

Hank huffed, "oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops."

Natalie chuckled at his comment, "looks like you're actually going to have to do your job, Lieutenant."

Hank shot her a narrowed eyed look and turned to Connor as he approached them, "were you really making' a report back there in the elevator? Just by closing your eyes?" He was growing exceptionally curious about what Connor could really do.

"Correct."

"Shit… wish I could do that…"

The three of them stood in front of the door and glanced at each other. "Are we just going to knock? Or what?" Natalie asked confused which only earned a shrug from Hank. She rolled her eyes and raised her hand to knock on the door. They waited a few moments and heard nothing on the other side. Sharing an unsure and confused look with each other, Natalie took it upon herself to knock again, this time more forcefully. "Anyone there!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she was able to hear a slight sound from within the room.

Gaining no real indication that someone was going to open the door, Connor stepped up and banged on the door. "Open up! Detroit Police!" Suddenly, there was a commotion heard from the other side of the door. Thumps and bangs were heard which alerted them to the indication that someone was in there.

"Stay behind me," Hank commanded the two as they backed up from the door. Neither of the two argued with him as they saw the situation became serious.

"Got it."

"No problem."

Hank pulled out his handgun and took it off the safety as he readied himself. Then he swiftly kicked the door open. They walked along the entrance hall with light footsteps. Hank checked the rooms on the side that were connected to the hallway and found that they were clear. Natalie gnawed at her bottom lip in anxiety. To think, it was only yesterday that she decided to leave her stuffy apartment and adventure out into the world once again. Now she was creeping along a hallway in order to find a deviant. It is so strange how life moves so quickly.

Hank kicked down the last door at the end of the hallway only to be bombarded with a flock of pigeons fluttering around. "What the fuck is this?!" He pointed his gun around wildly and looked around the large room for any sign of someone being there. "Jesus, this place stinks…"

Natalie placed a hand over her nose as she walked into the room after Connor. (He had made it crystal clear that he was to go into the room before she did. Much to her annoyance.) She held back a gag, "you can say that again."

"Uh, looks like we came for nothin'... our man's gone…"

Natalie finally allowed herself to get over the putrid smell that wafted through the room and was able to speak without bile rising from her throat. "Not for nothing," she started to explain. "He must have left some clues behind, maybe they can give us some insight into his thoughts and personality." She was starting to sound more like a psychologist than an android technician.

Connor and Natalie made quick work of starting to search around the apartment. While the flock of pigeons flew around at their movements, Natalie made her way into another room while Connor marched towards a poster. It was green and white and displayed the U.F.D. (Urban Farms of Detroit) He examined the poster and noticed that it looked like it had been removed several times. By scanning the poster he was able to tell that the worn out and torn poster could be removed. He swiftly pulled the corner of the poster down to find a hole in the plaster of the wall.

Inside was a small brown book. He carefully removed the book from its place and opened up its yellowing pages. Each page was covered back to front in drawings and writing that Connor tried to make heads or tails of. It seemed to be gibberish, but he would have to take the time later to delve deeper into what was written in it.

"Found something?" Hank asked as he stood in the apartment stiffly. He had been in many different places for cases, but this room took the cake for being one of the most disgusting.

"I don't know…" Connor stated, "it looks like a notebook but it's… indecipherable."

As Connor continued to find a few more clues about the deviant, Natalie cautiously tiptoed into the bathroom. The sink, toilet, and bathtub were not in working order which meant whoever decided to live here had not been using them. Not to mention, there seemed to be some Thirium in the sink along with an LED. That only proved the hypothesis that they were dealing with a deviant. She surveyed the bathroom further and stopped in her tracks as she faced one of the walls.

With her head tilted, she walked closer to the wall caked in grime and dirt. Also on the discolored wall was writing. "rA9…" Natalie muttered to herself in contemplation. The writing didn't have any significance to her, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that said otherwise. It was like she had heard it before, but her mind was clouded and hid the meaning of it from her. It was strange…

"Did you find something?" She jumped slightly as Connor appeared behind her and brought her out of her confused thoughts. She spun on her heels to face the android and tried to calm down her beating hearts.

"Well, I think so…" She gestured to the writing with her hand and moved out of the way for Connor to get a better look. "rA9 has been written 2471 times on this wall," she pointed to the sink. "There's also Thirium in the sink and an LED in there as well. The tell-tale signs of a deviant, I would think."

Connor nodded his head as he took in the information she presented him. "rA9, that's the same sign Ortiz's android-"

"You mean Gideon," Natalie couldn't help but interject.

Connor glanced at her for a second, "yes, Gideon wrote on the shower wall…"

Hank walked over and leaned against the door frame as he observed everything in the room. He couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows, "what the fuck…"

"They seem to have an obsession with this rA9, whatever that is," Natalie said and shrugged her shoulders for she did not have a clue as to what it meant. If she really tried, she was sure that she could look into multiple databases to find a lead on what it could mean at that very moment. However, that would only result in a killer headache for her afterward, and she didn't want to deal with one while working.

"Looks like mazes or something…" Hank gave an offhand remark and moved to walk out of the room while still looking at the wall.

Natalie tilts her head and sees that observation as well, "maybe it is…?" She sounded uncertain of herself as she exits behind Hank. Connor glances around the room to find a small stool overturned on the ground. While Natalie looked over the fake identifications of the deviant and the bird food on the counters, Connor scans the stool and finds that the suspect they were looking for feel off of it only recently.

He follows his scans and finds that the suspected deviant ran into the living room. Connor walked out of the bathroom and continued his scans in the living room. At first, the suspect ran towards the entrance which knocked down the birdcage from the ceiling. (That must have been the loud bang they heard.) However, the suspect changed his mind after he heard them enter the apartment. With haste, the suspect climbed the chair in the corner and heaved himself into the open ceiling.

Connor marched towards the corner and stared up at the hole in the ceiling with narrowed eyes. Natalie watched him with furrowed eyebrows and wondered what he noticed. Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the hole, which disturbed all of the pigeons in the room, and made a run for the door.

"God damn fuckin' pigeons!" Hank grunted. It was quite hard to see and move when all of the birds flying in the room, but the trio tried to follow after the suspect. "What are you waiting for?! Chase it!" At Hank's words, Connor took off in the same direction as the suspect in hopes of catching up with him.

Natalie's eyes twinkled with excitement, "oh, I love the running!"

She and Hank tried to follow after the two of them, but that proved to be a challenge. At least, for Hank, it was a challenge. Natalie tried to keep pace with the two androids and nearly did. She just reached the edge of the building on the roof and was prepared to keep running. However, She was jerked back when Hank grabbed her upper arm right before she was going to jump across a gap between buildings.

"Are you crazy! You'll get yourself killed, girly!"

Natalie ripped herself out of his grip and huffed, "you said go after him!" They were losing ground already and they needed to get after the deviant fast. There was no guarantee that Connor would be able to catch their suspect. "We need to catch up, come on!"

While the two of them found a safer route across buildings and towards the direction Connor and the deviant went, Connor was taking every risky path he could. He ran through slightly crowded areas, jumped obstacles, slid down the sides of buildings until he and the deviant were headed towards an oncoming train. Using his quick reflexes, Connor flawlessly landed on the top of the train.

Natalie and Hank ran up to the edge of the building they were on to see the awesome display of Connor's ability. "Holy shit…" Hank breathed out as he tried to catch his breath.

Natalie nodded her head with wide eyes as they watched Connor jump from the moving train onto a ladder. She only marveled in their partner's amazing actions for a moment before she shook her head and pulled Hank another way. "Come on, we can cut him off!"

Natalie sprinted along the rooftops with speeds that could match Olympic gold medalists! Of course, because of her fast speed, she had outran Hank by quite a bit. Hank may be a decorated officer, but that didn't mean he was in the best of shape. Especially when he was pinned against androids that were perfectly designed to be better than humans in just about every way. He had slowed down a bit to try and prevent himself from passing out due to all of the running. Natalie was a different story.

She used parkour and jumped gracefully around the obstacles that were in her way. She had found a route that would intercept the path of the two androids. With the speeds she was going, there was no doubt they would be able to corner the android they were chasing.

She landed on the ground and rolled before standing right outside a crop of corn. She could hear the rustling of the leaves and stalks which meant she was in the right place. The pounding of footsteps against dirt finally landed on concrete as the android they were chasing emerged from the crop.

Natalie allowed herself to take in the raggedy status of the android with a dirty coat, old hat, and baggy pants. The android instantly saw her and realized that she was chasing him just like that android who was hot on his tail.

"Hey! Don't run, we just want to talk!"

The android paid her no mind and tried to run away from her, but Natalie wasn't having any of that. She leaped forward and grabbed the android in hopes of stopping him but the android only tried to push her away. Natalie knew that if she was human, completely human, then the android would have no problem throwing her away from him and running off. However, because she had the added strength of being half machine, she proved to be a tougher opponent. Though that didn't mean she would succeed.

Connor had just emerged from the stalks of corn himself when he saw the scuffle between the android and the engineer. She appeared to be holding her own against the android, however, she quickly lost the small fight between them. The deviant was able to push her back enough to throw her over the side of the building.

Natalie screamed as she instantly reached out to grab the ledge. The android made his hasty escape while Natalie dangled from the high building. No one was going to help her up. Hank was too far away and Natalie was certain that Connor would go after the android because it was imperative to their investigation that he did. She would have had an easy time gripping onto the building's edge due to her robotic limbs, however, it was quite hard when she had a fear of heights. She was frozen in shock as she stared down at how high up she really was. She was going to die. God, she really was.

Connor took a second to make a decision, but he saw one of the two far more important than the other. He ignored the deviant that was running the opposite direction and rushed to grab Natalie's hands. He used his own strength to pull Natalie up and over the edge.

Natalie took in a deep, shaky breath once she was pulled up onto the rooftop. Her body was shaking slightly due to fright, but she tried to calm herself down before standing up. Hank then rounded the corner and saw his two partners but no suspect.

"Shit!" He exclaimed out of breath as he leaned on his knees to catch his breath. "OH SHIT! We had it! Fuck."

"It's my fault, I should have been faster." Connor took the blame for what had happened, but Natalie wouldn't let him.

"No, it's my fault, you'd got him if it wasn't for me." She shakily took in a breath. "I shouldn't have tried to stop him like that."

"You tried, Natalie." Connor started to reassure her, "you did the best you could. All that matters is you're safe now."

Natalie tried her best to smile softly towards him and nodded her head, "thank you, Connor." The sincerity in her voice was unmeasurable. If it wasn't for him, Natalie could have been nothing but a heap of blood and circuits on the pavement. She owes him her life!

Hank noticed the tremble in Natalie's body along with the terror and appreciation in her words. He didn't want her to feel even worse about the situation than she already was. He may be an asshole, but he wasn't one all the time. "That's alright." He reached an arm out and began to guide Natalie towards the door leading into the building. "We know what it looks like. We'll find it…"

Natalie sighed and gulped, "yeah, yeah, you're right. Still, I'm really sorry." Both Hank and Connor could tell that she was extremely apologetic for her part in losing the android.

Hank didn't really care. He would have rather lost the android then lose the life of one of his partners. Even if she was only assigned to work with him that morning. Besides she was young, he would hate to see a kid get killed on the job. He's had his fair share of colleges who had been killed while working and reporting the news to their families was always tough. Especially if the one who died was as young as Natalie. But he couldn't help himself but glance at Connor with a calculating stare. Like Natalie, he was slightly surprised to see that Connor had given up going after the deviant. It was in his programming to do everything in his power to find everything he could for this investigation. God, he was confused.

Connor was… relieved that the engineer wasn't harmed or killed because of this. Keeping her safe was apart of his mission…? She was the technician assigned to make sure that he didn't malfunction so, in turn, to help with the success of his mission. Yes, that was why a strange coldness enveloped his body when he saw her fall over the edge and a wave of warmth washed over him when she was safe. She was important to his mission, that was why he had to make sure she was safe. But why did it feel like there was another reason…

"You should get home, girly." Hank's comment tore Connor from his internal conflict. "We've all had an interesting day."

Natalie shook her head as they all walked down the staircase from the rooftop. "No, if we start our search now, we can find that deviant. He couldn't have gotten far…"

Connor interjected, "I suggest we take you home, Natalie. After being in such a traumatic situation, I advise we take you home to rest."

Natalie turned to him with sharp eyes. She may have been placed in a stressful and harrowing situation, however, understanding what's happening to androids is far more important when compared to her own well being. Her fears only affect herself and didn't impact hundreds upon thousands of people like the android issue. She has to look at the bigger picture.

"But-"

Hank shook his head, "no, Connor's right, we're taking you home."

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed, "you guys really like ganging up on me, don't you?"

"Yeah, now let's go," Hank said with a tone of finality as he led them through the building. Natalie rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be guided by her two partners through the building and out onto the street.

They all walked in silence along the streets back towards Hank's car. Natalie's trembling had stopped completely as she strolled leisurely on the pavement. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets as she contemplated everything that happened. She couldn't help but wonder why the phrase "rA9" seemed familiar to her. She had a feeling that it had an enormous part to play when it came to what was happening to the androids. Perhaps Elijah would have a clue as to what it was.

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 04:22:17**

After a car ride across the city, the trio pulled up on the curb in front of an apartment complex. The building was just as large as the other skyscrapers that surrounded it. The building was nothing too special, but appeared to be It was obviously not one of the most expensive high rises, but it was decent when compared to others in the city.

Hank and Connor followed Natalie as she exited the elevator leading up to the forty-seventh floor. She pulled out her keys and put them into the lock while turning to the android and lieutenant. "I'm still sorry about losing-"

"I swear if you apologize one more time, I'll-" Hank started to threaten when the door to her apartment swung open quickly. Three pairs of eyes landed on the man who stood in the doorway. He had a mop of brown hair the swept across his forehead and obscuring his light green eyes. He was around the same height as Connor and at the moment, he eyed the two standing behind Natalie.

"You'll what?" He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the older man. It was a similar gesture that Hank had seen in the past from the woman who stood in front of him. Though it's effects were not the same.

Natalie scoffed at Ethan's attempt at appearing intimidating. It didn't suit him, at all. "Stop it, Ethan." She gave him a pointed look.

He turned to her with an exasperated look while dropping his arms, "what?! It sounded like he was threatening you!" There was a slight whine in his voice that made him sound like a child.

Natalie nodded her head sarcastically, "yes, and I'm sure he could totally hurt me." She raised her eyebrow in a challenge as she dared him to contradict her. When she saw the defeated look cross his face, she smirked. It slipped off from her lips, however, when she was suddenly pulled forward by her forearms.

Ethan noticed the bandage that was on her forehead and the fact that it was stained red with wide eyes. He examined her forehead closely as concern painted his face. "Oh my god, Nat! What happened?!"

Natalie pouted her lips in annoyance as Ethan held her head in his hands and rambled on worriedly. She always hated it when he switched to 'protective little brother' mode over her, as it became annoying sometimes. She didn't even try to understand what he was saying because he was speaking so fast. She just had to let him get it all out before she actually tried to calm him down. He was such a worrywart!

Hank and Connor glanced at each other as they watched the strange interaction between the two people in front of them. Hank's expression was pure confusion and irritation at the display of affection Ethan had for Natalie. He wasn't sure who this man is, or who he was to Natalie, but it seemed like they were very close.

Connor was quick to scan who the man in front of them was. It wasn't due to the unusual hot sensation that enveloped his circuits, not at all. Definitely not because of the uncomfortable feeling that wormed its way into his mind place due to the close proximity of the man to Natalie. No, not at all.

'_Tyler, Ethan'_

_Born: 2/10/2015 / Wayne State Student_

_Criminal record: None_.'

Natalie's bored expression was plastered on her face as she allowed Ethan to continue. When Ethan had to pause for breath, Natalie took it as her chance to stop him completely. "If you're done, I'd like to get _inside_ my apartment, thank you." She sidestepped him and entered their apartment.

Ethan pouted at Natalie before he turned to Hank and Connor. He noticed that the man on the left of him had the blue triangle on his chest and armband that indicated he was an android. It dawned on him that this was the android Natalie was tasked with looking after. It was a surprise to him that Natalie had gotten the job so quickly. He thought Elijah would have had a tougher time getting Natalie a position at the company. He still has a lot of power in CyberLife even if he wasn't apart of it anymore, it seemed.

Ethan moved aside with a polite smile, "why don't you guys come in."

Hank nodded his head and instantly walked into the comfy apartment. Connor marched after his partner and observed the cozy apartment. At the moment, the television was on and displayed a game of baseball that Ethan was previously watching.

"Ethan!" Natalie exclaimed as she stalked around the kitchen counter. She held a pizza box in her hand while tilting her head. "I said not to order pizza this morning, I was going to cook dinner tonight."

Ethan scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he, Hank and Connor moved over towards the muted television and couches. "Well, you weren't here, and I didn't know when you would get back, so…"

Natalie couldn't help but laugh at the innocence on his face, "whatever, I guess I'll just cook _myself_ dinner." She turned to Hank with a raised eyebrow, "you want something to drink."

Hank didn't even contemplate her offer, "sure-"

"And I'm not giving you alcohol, Lieutenant." Came her remark as she walked over to the kitchen counter again. Hank deflated slightly at her words.

Ethan chuckled and reassured the older man. "Don't mind her. Neither of us has been people to drink alcohol." He then stage-whispered, "she is also a complete lightweight."

"I heard you, idiot!"

Ethan rolled his eyes as he plopped down on the plush, soft couch that rested in front of the television. Hank and Connor followed after. Hank took a seat next to the younger man on the couch while Connor sat on the loveseat that rested against the wall beside the couch.

"I suppose you guys are working with Natalie," Ethan commented.

Connor nodded his head, "yes, she was assigned to look over my programming to make sure that I don't develop malfunctions or errors within my software."

"She's his babysitter." Hank couldn't help but interject with a hearty laugh. Ethan smiled brightly and joined in the laughter. Though he tried to smother the noise with his hand over his mouth, as he knew Natalie would be irritated by Hank's joke.

"Did you tell her that? Man, if I said something like that to her I would have been slapped!"

Natalie waltzed over to the loveseat, where Connor sat rigid and stiff, and sat next to the android. She had discarded her hoodie and taken off her shoes so she could curl her legs underneath herself in order to get comfortable in her spot. "Be warned, the threat's still there." She glared at playfully her younger brother who only raised his hands in surrender. She rolled her eyes at their antics, "anyway, that's Lieutenant Anderson," she started off introductions for the three others in the room by nodding at Hank. "This is Connor," she gestured towards the android before addressing both Hank and Connor. "And this idiot is my little brother, Ethan."

Ethan flashed a bright and charming smile while offering Hank his hand, "nice meeting you." Hank shook his hand as he looked over the man. With a firm handshake, Hank nodded his head. To think that the woman who appeared to be headstrong, independent and with a seeming spark of mischief and rebellion in her had a brother like this. Natalie seemed to be able to intimidate just about anyone and also was kind and polite when the situations called for it. Ethan appeared only able to be kind and polite. He seemed to be a people pleaser and hated confrontation. At least, that's what Hank concluded about him. For all he knows, Hank could be wrong about Ethan. "It's honestly good to see that Natalie was actually able to get along with you."

Hank tilted his head slightly, "is she not a person who usually plays nice?"

Ethan shrugged his shoulders sheepishly after a moment of deliberation, "I'm just glad she isn't completely socially awkward like I thought she would be."

Connor noticed that Natalie shifted uncomfortably next to him. "Why would Natalie be socially awkward?" Connor asked.

"Well, after staying inside for three ye-" Ethan started to babble about the progress that his sister had taken, however, paused when he saw the heated glare from her. He gulped before clearing his throat. Connor watched the interaction with narrow eyes. _What was he going to say? Why did Natalie appear irritated with what he was going to say? _"I bet you three had a tiring day, wouldn't want to keep you all too long, Lieutenant." Ethan stood up as Hank slowly followed after along with Connor after a moment. The Tyler siblings showed the android and Lieutenant to the door. "It was nice meeting you both, hope we can meet again."

Hank gave a gruff reply back in farewell and bid Natalie one as well before exiting the small apartment. Connor also said goodbye and followed after his partner towards the door.

Natalie licked her lips and stopped Connor before he could get too far away from the door to her apartment. Connor's eyebrows furrowed as Hank continued towards the elevator, and he turned to the short woman who had grabbed his upper arm. Natalie smiled softly, "listen, Connor, thank you again, really for saving my life."

"It was no problem, Natalie."

The gratitude that shined in her eyes was almost blinding. Connor was positive if it wasn't for that fact that he was an android, he would have gone blind. "Really." She took a deep breath, "I just wanted you to know that I owe you for what you did."

He was only doing what he saw necessary to their investigation. Keeping er same was important. He doesn't completely see why she is thanking him so much. Connor was an android specifically created to perform different and difficult tasks which, in this case, included saving Natalie. It was like she was thanking him as if he had made some sort of human decision. She made it sound like he made a decision based off of emotions instead of logistics. "You don't-"

"Connor come on!" Hank's shout cut off any rebuttal that Connor had for Natalie.

Natalie chuckled at the impatient tone Hank used. She didn't doubt that he would leave the poor android there at her apartment building if Connor didn't hurry up. "I'll see you later, Connor." With that final goodbye, Natalie closed the door of her apartment and sighed. In the hallway, while making his way towards the elevator, Connor contemplated Natalie words and actions. Not only the fact that she had to thank him profusely for saving her life but also how she reacted when Ethan mentioned her being socially awkward.


	5. Russian Roulette

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 07:51:04**

**THE LIGHT, CONTINUOUS PITTER PATTER OF RAIN** greeted Connor's ears even before he reopened his eyes. Once he did, he found puddles forming at his feet as more droplets of water dropped onto the ground. The Zen Garden was grey and gloomy which was completely different from the bright, pristine white appearance it usually had. He held a black umbrella in his hand tightly as he started to march in the direction of Amanda.

The African-American woman was dressed in a white and grey dress with a yellow half-cardigan while she waited patiently for Connor's arrival. It was a common occurrence to see her waiting for the android and his daily report. She stood completely still, like a wall, as a few raindrops greeted her skin while she stared at Connor as he marched towards her through the light rain.

After crossing the bridge, Connor finally stood in front of the woman, "Hello, Amanda." He greeted her accordingly.

"Connor," there was no emotion in her voice, nor her face, as she stared at him blankly. Her feelings were hidden, tucked away for the time being, as she returned the androids greeting. "I've been expecting you… Would you mind a little walk?" Wordlessly, Connor moved to stand by her side while opening up the umbrella to cover both himself and Amanda. They began to walk along the stone path that surrounded the Zen Garden. "That deviant seemed to be an intriguing case." She started up the conversation while staring straight. Her lips were pulled back in a thin line as her expression was blank. There wasn't any indication to what she was feeling! She glanced at Connor briefly, "a pity you didn't manage to capture it…"

Connor stood rigidly next to her as he continued to march next to her. He understood that he had failed to capture the deviant earlier in that day, however, he had a reasonable explanation for his failure. "I had to make sure that Natalie was kept safe. Which resulted in the deviant's escape."

Amanda turned her head as she raised her nose into the air. "No matter. Did you manage to learn anything?"

"I found its diary," He started, "but it was encrypted. It may take weeks to decipher."

"What else?" Amanda still did not turn to Connor.

He continued on with another one of the findings that they had found in the deviant's apartment. "The walls of the apartment were covered with drawings of labyrinths and other symbols. Like the other deviants, it seemed obsessed with rA9."

Amanda hummed and shook her head in seeming disappointment. "You came very close to capturing that deviant…" Connor was supposed to be the leading edge in technology. He was created to accomplish his missions with accuracy and precision while grantee that the job would get done. He failed once so far and if he proved to be defective and unable to finish the job he was created to do, then they would need to replace him.

Connor continued on, "it was also fascinated by birds. We've seen deviants interested in other lifeforms like insects for pets, but nothing like this."

"How is your relationship with the Lieutenant developing?"

"It's improving. I've come to understand him better, and he's growing accustomed to my presence."

"And I hope the technician is not proving to be… difficult to comply with."

"So far, Natalie has shown to be a worthy partner and is doing well with making sure that none of my operating systems malfunction." He paused for a short moment as if debating internally about what he was going to say next. "She seemed grateful that I saved his life on the roof. She expressed it quite openly-"

"She does not pose a distraction to the investigation?" Amanda cut in before Connor could continue to talk about Natalie. She was obviously not happy with the fact that Connor was slowly becoming attached to the technician. At the moment, it didn't seem to pose any sort of problem for the prototype, however, the moment that Miss. Tyler became one, Amanda would be more than happy to rectify it.

"Not at all." Connor instantly said, "she has provided insight that have helped us with the investigation."

The two of them walked on a bridge that rested above the small pond in the Zen Garden. As Connor continued to walk for a few more paces, Amanda halted as she stared at the android with narrowed eyes. She allowed the small raindrops to kiss her skin as she pursed her lips. "We don't have much time." She warned Connor, "Deviancy continues to spread. It's only a matter of time before the media finds out about it. We need to stop this, whatever it takes."

Connor nodded his head firmly and his posture became even straighter (though it didn't seem possible that it could). "I will solve this investigation, Amanda. I won't disappoint you."

There was a pregnant pause before Amanda continued to speak while keeping a keen eye on the prototype. "A new case just came in. Find Anderson and Tyler and investigate it."

* * *

Natalie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She laid on the cool, stiff mattress in her bedroom as she stared at the bland, monotone colors of her ceiling. The plain surface stared back at her blankly as her eyes dropped slightly. It seemed like it was that time of the day again…

She cursed herself for being so depressed. _Then again, who isn't depressed nowadays?_ She scoffed lightly in her head, _Ethan isn't, I guess._ She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she envied her half-brother's ability to be so optimistic. She wished she could see the world through his eyes just for a day to see all of the good parts. She'd like to see herself in a good light again…

She turned over on her side and let the glowing red letters of her alarm clock glare back at her. "8:21," She deadpanned. Ethan had left an hour ago to go to his classes. It was obviously a common occurrence for him to leave their apartment to head to his university. She was proud of her brother for the fact that he had decided to go to college and delighted that he had chosen to take after her and study Physics. She suspected that after hearing about her go on and on about the subject for years he had decided to go to school for it. But she always hated how she was left alone with her own thoughts when he went to school.

She sighed through her nose and slowly sat up. Perhaps she could read something to keep her mind from drifting too far off the deep end. She reached for the book tablet that was on her nightstand and sat against her headboard. She scrolled through the news articles, nonfiction stories and fiction stories that were on the tablet. She couldn't find anything too interesting to read which ended with her throwing the book tablet onto her bed in slight frustration.

She needed _something_ to distract her!

The voices drenched in malice and hatred were slowly seeping into her mind as they replayed their spiteful words over and over. Despite the words and voices being in her head, it was as if they were bouncing off the walls

"_You've completely destroyed our family!"_

"_She's not my daughter!"_

"_You're not Natalie anymore!"_

"_Why didn't you just die?!"_

"_She's a freak of nature!_

"_An abomination!"_

Natalie whimpered slightly at the voices of her family and buried her head in her hands as it felt like the walls were closing in on her. To think, those were the words that had slapped her in the face after she had woken up from her coma. Not only that, but they had come from the lips of her family. The people she had grown up with her entire life, the people who knew everything about her, and the people who were meant to love her unconditionally no matter what had shouted their displeasure in her survival. They had made it _very_ clear that they would rather have her dead and buried than living and breathing as some sort of… '_abomination'_ as her step-father had labeled her. But he was right about what she was. She knew that now.

She let out a shaky breath before swallowing thickly. The next best thing to distract herself was to talk to someone, she realized. She couldn't call Ethan as he was in the middle of his classes, obviously. Maybe she could call Lieutenant Anderson and just go over the investigations, but she had no doubt that the man was getting drunk at a bar, so she couldn't call him either. Connor was another option, but she was sure that he must have been busy with work at CyberLife. It was quite sad to think that a woman in her late twenties barely had anyone to consider friends. Three years of solitude had cut her off completely from the outside world and effectively caused her to not only loose friends but also not gain any new ones. That could also be due to her "family" running any remaining friends she had left away from her. Seeing as she didn't have any other friends to call… There was only one other person she could think of calling.

"Evening, baby cousin." The cocky voice of Elijah Kamski greeted her ears as the image of him appeared in front of her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, Nat?"

She sniffed and tried to keep her voice level, "I just needed a distraction."

Elijah's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned forward in his chair that placed in front of a window that looked out across the city. He placed down the glass of alcohol onto the table next to him as he focused on their conversation completely. He could hear the waver in her voice as it betrayed her in her attempt to hide her sorrow. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Natalie denied and shook her head while fiddling with her fingers in anxiety. "Ethan's at school and I just wanted to talk to someone."

"About what?"

She bit her lip and tried to come up with something, "I-I don't know… Anything?"

"Natalie," Elijah started off sternly, "you sound upset." She stayed silent on the other end of the line. "Why do you need a distraction?"

After a moment of silence, Elijah could hear a shuddered breath from his cousin. "Do you regret what you did?" Her voice was soft and barely above a whisper. She disregarded his question as it seemed that she was lost in her own self-degrading thoughts.

"I've done a lot of things, Natalie," he sighed out, but he had an inkling feeling of what she was referring to.

"T-to me?" To hear her ask that broke his heart. "The procedure?"

He shook his head as not only the feeling of melancholy swarmed him but also rage. "I would never regret what I did for you, Natalie." His words were firm and full of outrage at the idea that she would even consider the notion he regretted even a fraction of what he did. "I saved your life, Nat, I _don't_ regret and will _never_ regret keeping you alive!"

He heard her sniff again on the other end of the call and he hated the fact that she questioned if he regretted saving her life. He hated how the spiteful words of their family plagued her so much. Their displeasing words had broken her down into a shell of who she used to be! There was no denying that his cousin was a spitfire in every scene of the word. She was outspoken, rebellious, cheeky, stubborn and headstrong. However, it seemed that what their family had said to her years ago were slowly eating at her from the inside. He had noticed how she became depressed after seemingly being cut off from her family three years ago. He could understand why that would happen.

He loathed his step-uncle for the blatant manipulation he had over his aunt and cousins. He detested how Ronald Tyler, his step-uncle, had forced his views on androids (Elijah's own creations) onto his children and wife. In doing so, he had forced his family to cast out Natalie, one of his own _children_, from their family! His hatred not only forced Natalie out of her own family but also cursed Natalie to be plagued by nightmares and doubts about her own existence. What kind of person would do that to someone they had supposedly "loved"?

"But they were right, about me being some sort of… abomination." Her voice was strained and soft, and Elijah knew that she was going to start crying. "They have a good reason to hate me…"

"Stop it, Natalie!" Elijah snapped, "they were never given a reason to _hate_ you! They were your family who are supposed to love you no matter what. If a surgery that kept you _alive_ caused them to hate you… then they're complete morons."

It was silent on both ends of the phone call. Neither of the cousins wanted to speak at all as they tried to collect their thoughts. Natalie's mind had halted in its downward spiral of depression as she allowed Elijah's words to consume every corner of her thoughts. She was glad that someone who was apart of her family expressed how she did matter in some way. She was delighted to hear that her cousin didn't think she was a freak experiment that he regretted creating.

Elijah coughed uncomfortably from the other end of the line, "now, if we're done with the waterworks, how's Ethan?"

Natalie sniffed and rubbed her puffy red eyes to rid herself of the tears that had started to fall. "He's f-fine," her voice squeaked out. "Fine. He's doing well at school and stuff." She smiled slightly as she was glad Elijah was trying to divert the conversation away from the sad topic. Elijah wasn't always good with different emotions, especially ones like depression.

"And how's the new job?"

She pursed her lips, "so far, it's, um… pretty good."

Elijah smiled slightly as he heard the heavy emotions dissipating from her voice. "Pretty good? I thought you would love your job, Nat!"

"I do!" Natalie exclaimed, "It's very… interesting, to say the least, but I'm enjoying it so far."

"There aren't any problems?"

Natalie hesitated and thought for a moment, "actually… we've been stuck on something that's a part of the investigation. I hope that you might know something." There was no harm in asking the creator of androids about an aspect that they had just discovered. She should at least try to cover all of her bases.

"Ask away, baby cousin!"

"Do you know anything about rA9?" She waited for an answer, but her cousin was silent on the other end of the line. She suspected that he was mulling over her question. However, she didn't know that at that moment, Elijah was having a debate internally over telling her what rA9 really was. "If you don't know, that's fine. I was just wondering if you possibly knew-"

"I've heard the term in the past," Elijah commented offhandedly.

Natalie straightened at his words, "anything about it that is… I don't know how to put it, um, peculiar?"

"I don't remember much about it, Nat." He replied quickly while trying to shield all emotion from his voice. He didn't want her to know that he _did_ know what rA9 was.

Natalie deflated, "oh, alright. It was worth a shot." If the creator of androids didn't know what rA9 was… then who would? Before the two could continue their conversation, Natalie heard a knock from her front door. She jumped slightly due to the noise breaking her out of her thoughts and started to get out of her bed.

"It sounds like you have a guest," Elijah commented.

Natalie shuffled out of her bedroom and towards the front door with her eyebrows furrowed. "I wasn't expecting anyone, and Ethan doesn't get home until 10:30." She peered through the peephole to see who had turned up at her door so late. As soon as she saw the CyberLife prototype on the other side of the door, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh."

"Who's at the door?"

"Connor." She answered in slight confusion. Why was the android at her apartment?

Elijah hummed in understanding, "I guess that prototype just doesn't want to leave you alone, huh, baby cousin."

Natalie could hear the teasing behind his words which caused her to roll her eyes. Though she couldn't help herself from her lips twitching up in a smile. "Goodbye, Eli."

Elijah chuckled at how she dismissed his statement. He always loved to tease her in any way he could. He could barely count the number of times he had embarrassed her about her crushes in school. He loved seeing how flustered she would get due to his teasing! She tried to make herself out as a tough woman to just about everyone. She liked to portray herself as someone who was strong, tough, fiery along with rational and kind when needed. But he knew that she could melt into an awkward puddle if you pushed her buttons right and embarrassed her enough.

"Talk to you later, Nat."

The phone call ended with Natalie feeling far better than she was beforehand. It would surprise anyone that Elijah was able to actually display emotions such as comfort. He was only ever portrayed as a genius, emotionless, cocky inventor. There were no articles or interviews that displayed how compassionate Elijah really could be. Natalie was just glad that the image of Elijah that was shown to the public wasn't the only side that he had. If that were true, she would have hated to be related to a man like that.

More knocking pulled her out of her thoughts. "Natalie?" Connor questioned through the door. She sighed and messed around with her hair to make sure that it wasn't as messy as she knew it was. She glanced down at the clothes that she was wearing and shrugged her shoulders. She wore a baggy t-shirt(that she had a feeling was Ethan's), some short shorts and mitch-matched socks. She would definitely have to change clothes if she had to leave. She swung the door open quickly and came face to face with the android she was tasked with looking after.

Connor surveyed Natalie. Her eyes were slightly red and blotchy which were obvious signs of crying. Her cheeks were flushed and painted in tear tracks that were barely visible to any normal person, but he could see them clearly. Why was she crying? And why did his circuits tingled uncomfortably with the idea of her crying?

"Connor," Natalie breathed out through a smile as her words were drenched in confusion. "What are you doing here? I hope nothing's wrong?" She moved aside and allowed the android to enter her apartment. She ran a hand through her hair to try and tame her unruly knots. She knew that she must look a mess. With her hair knotted, face obviously flustered and clothes all a mess, Natalie was certain Connor thought something was wrong with her.

"There's a new case that we have to investigate," he explained to her.

Natalie's eyes grew wide as she bit her lip. She didn't think that there would be another case so soon! Though she wouldn't say she wasn't at least somewhat excited to do some more work with Connor and the Lieutenant. She kinda felt like she should redeem herself after _she_ was the reason they lost the deviant. Though she has to admit that she didn't want another android to be captured and torn apart because some people didn't understand how they were developing some semblance of emotions and a conscious. "Really? Where?"

"The Eden Club," Connor started, "an android killed one of the patrons there." Natalie cringed at the mention of the infamous men's club. "We'll have to go get Lieutenant Anderson before we arrive at the crime scene."

Natalie nodded her head stiffly. As much as she didn't like the place they had to go to, she couldn't really argue. She now had a job that she had to do! "Right, where's the Lieutenant?" She asked while looking over his shoulder to find the moody, older man. However, the man was not in sight.

"I looked for Lieutenant Anderson at Jimmy's bar, but he wasn't there. So I decided to see if you were home before going to find the Lieutenant."

"Oh, alright, just give me a second to get ready!" With that said, she bounced away towards her bedroom which left Connor to gaze around the room.

When he and the Lieutenant were in the moderately sized apartment Connor didn't get a good look at the apartment itself. It was a cozy place and seemed like the perfect place to live. Connor observed the many documents and awards that were on the light-colored walls. They were mainly awards and degrees that were given to Natalie for school and scientific achievements. It was a surprise to see that a woman that young could have been awarded these many awards in quite a few subjects. Natalie had degrees in physics, engineering, and criminal justice. It was obvious that Natalie was somewhat of a genius!

There were a few pictures scattered on the walls which mainly consisted of Ethan and Natalie in different places. There were a few pictures of the two Tyler siblings when they were younger with a few other people. There was an older man who Connor instantly identified as Carl Manfred, the famous painter. There were also multiple pictures of Natalie and Elijah Kamski, the creator of androids. He didn't realize that Natalie knew him! However, he supposed he found out _how_ Natalie acquired her job so quickly. Just how she knew one of the richest men in the world was unknown to him. A final picture that was resting on a table was of an older man with short brown hair, green eyes, and a bright smile.

'_**DECEASED**_

_ **KAMSKI, NOAH** _

_Born: 1/15/1977 - Died: 8/5/2013_

_Lived: 54 Ebony Court - Detroit_'

Connor stared at the picture for a long moment as he tried to find a link between Natalie and the uncle of the creator of androids. He couldn't come up with something right away. However, there was no doubt with his extensive knowledge and ability to access records Connor would be able to find the relation that the two engineers had. He could also result to actually asking Natalie about it. Perhaps that would be better.

Natalie's footsteps bounced off the walls of the small apartment as she sauntered down the hall towards Connor. He turned to see her dressed in a red t-shirt, black leggings, a pair of white sneakers and her white beanie she was currently adjusting to fit on her head. "Right, I'm ready to go," she commented as she grabbed her green sweatshirt off of a hook on the wall. It felt like her nervousness and excitement was going to fry a circuit due to the overwhelming emotions.

Connor nodded his head and smiled slightly as he saw the wide smile on her own lips. He noticed the bounce in her step as she approached him and started to lead him towards the door, "good."

* * *

Natalie hummed an unfamiliar tune as she watched the plethora of houses pass by the window. She tapped her fingers against her leg in time with the song as she tried to bide her time while they traveled to the Lieutenant's home. She didn't think that Lieutenant Anderson lived far away from her, but she was wrong. It "You have reached your destination. Thank you for traveling with Detroit Taxis. We look forward to seeing you again soon." The taxi's automated voice pulled Natalie from her thoughts.

Connor and Natalie stepped out of the self-driving taxi and approached the house in front of them. It wasn't a terrible looking house. If anything, Natalie thought that it would be a nice house to live in. Though she did think that it would need some fixing up as the paint appeared to be chipped on the outside and the yard was slightly overgrown.

The two of them approached the door of the Lieutenant's home and Connor knocked on the door. "Lieutenant Anderson? Anybody home?" There was no answer. The android then tried the doorbell which allowed the obnoxious sound to ring loudly.

"Are you sure he's home?" Natalie couldn't help but ask with a sigh as she looked at Connor.

The android nodded his head firmly, "I am certain that he is here."

"Well, maybe he's asleep or something?" She suggested weakly. She didn't really want to admit that it was possible that the Lieutenant was ignoring their calls because he didn't want to be bothered with them. He was slightly annoyed with their presence beforehand, at least Natalie thought he was. Connor disregarded her thoughts and rang the doorbell again which still did not receive an answer. Natalie played with the ends of her hair as she shrugged her shoulders, "what do we do now?"

Connor stood for a moment and contemplated his choices. He had to get Hank in order to continue his investigation. He could have traveled with Natalie to the Eden Club and looked around themselves, however, he was instructed to investigate _with_ Hank. There was no other choice but to go with him. "We need to find a way in."

Natalie watched with skeptical eyes as Connor walked down the steps and began to look through the windows. She hesitated slightly as she watched him peer through the front windows before moving to go to the back of the house. Natalie quickly followed after him to make sure that he didn't do anything rash.

Natalie trailed after Connor as they walked around the back of the home. She felt quite weird that she was peeking into the Lieutenant's windows. She also didn't want a neighbor to see them peaking in and confront them about it. Though as soon as they looked through the window that led into the kitchen, she was glad that Connor was adamant about getting the Lieutenant.

"My God!"

Inside his kitchen, the Lieutenant was lying unconscious on the ground. Why he was on the ground was unknown to either of the two but that didn't really matter. What mattered was making sure that the man was at least okay.

Without a second's hesitation, Connor broke the window and tumbled through it. Natalie watched with wide eyes and her mouth agape in shock. She watched as Connor came face to face with a large Saint Bernard dog, Sumo. "Argh!.. Easy!.. Sumo… I'm your friend, see?.. I know your name… I'm here to save your owner…"

Natalie nimbly climbed through the window, unlike Connor who had jumped through clumsily, and tripped over her own feet onto the android. "Sorry!" She quickly climbed off of Connor with embarrassment washing each of her circuits. She cleared her throat and walked over towards the unmoving man.

They maneuvered around the kitchen to get closer to the unconscious Lieutenant's side to examine him. They could both tell that he was still alive due to his shallow breathing which caused Natalie to sigh in relief. She had no idea what she would do if the lieutenant had _died_. Considering she had only known the man barely a day… no, she wouldn't dwell on that. What mattered was waking the poor man up. Though Natalie's stomach flipped when she noticed the .357 Magnum that rested next to his head. There was only one bullet remaining and Natalie had a feeling she knew why. _Oh god…_ She thought in dismay.

"Lieutenant?" Natalie bent down asked shakily while shaking his shoulder which got her no reaction.

She glanced up at Connor for help, "Lieutenant?" He asked and patted the man on his cheek. "Wake up, Lieutenant!" Natalie had to hold in her laughter when Connor suddenly slapped Hank across the face in order to get him to wake up. "It's us, Connor and Natalie! I'm going to sober you up for your own safety." He lifted Hank by his arm and started to pull him up. Natalie jumped over to his other side and helped Connor lift the man up.

"Hey!.. Leave me alone, you fuckin' android!" Hank grumbled out as it was still clear he was being affected by the alcohol.

Connor disregarded his exclamation as did Natalie, "I have to warn you, this may be unpleasant."

"Get the fuck outta my house!"

Natalie huffed as the two lifted him up properly as he swayed on his feet, "Not a chance, Lieutenant."

"Thank you in advance for your cooperation," Connor commented as the two started to drag Hank on his feet to walk out of his messy kitchen.

"Hey! Get the fuck outta here!" They hefted Hank towards the bathroom in hopes of actually sobering the drunk man up. "Sumo! Attack!" His dog only baked in reply which caused Natalie to laugh lightly. She couldn't see that large furball really hurting anyone. "Good dog. Attack!" They got to the bathroom door and Natalie moved to wretch it open as Connor continued to hold the swaying drunk from falling over. "Fuck, I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"That's what happens when you drink too much, Lieutenant!" Natalie sassed as she moved to grab him again and bring him into the bathroom along with Connor.

"Ah! Leave me alone, you assholes! I'm not going anywhere…" Hank tried to stop his two partners from dragging him further by grabbing the wall. However, that didn't work well for him as he was still highly intoxicated and had little strength when compared to the other two who were carrying his ass towards the bath. "What the hell are you doing?.." They set him down on the edge of his tub, "I don't wanna bath, thank you…"

Natalie chuckled and pushed him back into the tub which caused him to fall in completely, "like you have a choice."

"Sorry, Lieutenant." Connor commented as the two gazed down at the intoxicated man, "it's for your own good."

Natalie motioned at the knobs of the bathtub to Connor with mischief swimming in her eyes as she pressed her lips together to stop herself from snickering. Connor shrugged his shoulders and moved towards the knobs in order to turn them on. Cold water sprayed down onto Hank from the shower head above him.

The method instantly seemed to sober him up as he began flailing about in the tub and begging for either one of them to turn it off. "TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" Connor finally let the man's misery end as he turned the water off once he saw that Hank was awake enough. Hank took big deep breaths to calm himself down as his mind became clear enough to ask rational questions. "What the fuck are you two doing here?"

Natalie snorted at him which earned a glare from the soaking wet Lieutenant. She tried to flash him her most teasing smile but a weight settled in her stomach as she recalled how they found the Lieutenant in his kitchen. _Russian Roulette_, she sighed in her mind. She now realized why Hank may have been acting so moody and agitated. Honestly, she couldn't blame him for it, as she has been in the same dark hole as him. She was quite sure that she still hadn't crawled out of it.

"A homicide was reported 43 minutes ago." Connor started to explain as neither of them noticed the turmoil that swirled in Natalie. "I couldn't find you at Jimmy's bar, so I found Natalie and the two of us came to see if you were at home."

"Jesus, I must be the only cop in the world that gets assaulted in his own house by his own fuckin' android and its babysitter…" Natalie opened her mouth to interject on his comment but she bit her tongue. "Can't you guys just leave me alone?"

"Unfortunately, we cannot. I've been programmed to investigate this case and we can't do it without you."

Hank rolled his eyes, "I don't give a shit about your goddamn case!"

"Lieutenant," Natalie sighed and tried to reason with him the best she could with a soft voice, "you're not yourself. You should-"

"Beat it! You hear me?!" She jumped at his sudden shout though she couldn't blame him for his agitated behavior. "Get the hell outta here!"

The trio was silent for a moment as Hank's shout resonated slightly in the room. Natalie sighed through her nose heavily and shook her head slightly. Connor noticed Natalie's slight jump and cleared his throat, "I understand. It probably wasn't interesting anyway…" Natalie watched him with a raised eyebrow as his voice held a teasing tone. Connor turned to start leaving the room. "A man found dead in a sex club downtown... Guess they'll have to solve the case without us…"

Hank hesitated, but Natalie was able to tell that Connor's teasing had gotten to him. She couldn't help herself but smirk as she knew Hank was suddenly interested in the case. Of course, as soon as Connor mentioned it was at a sex club, Hank was definitely going to be interested in it. "You know, probably wouldn't do me any harm to get some air... There're some clothes in the bedroom there."

Natalie swore she saw Connor smirk in triumph, "I'll go get them." As Connor went into Hank's bedroom in search of some clothes, Natalie crossed her arms over her chest. She watched Hank with a calculating stare as she assessed the obviously depressed man. She observed the rest of the bathroom and noticed the sticky notes that were obviously there to encourage him through his day. God, she and the lieutenant were far more alike than she first thought… "What do you want to wear?"

"Whatever," Hank grumbled out as it looked like he was about to be sick.

Connor came back into the bathroom just as Hank had started to throw up into the toilet after scrambling over to it. Natalie's eyes flashed in concern, an emotion she would exhibit for the Lieutenant at any point. Her voice was soft and had an undertone of understanding that went over the older man's head, as he was too busy being sick. Of course, Connor noticed it, however. "Are you all right, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah...yeah...wonderful... Just a... Give me five minutes, okay?"

Connor nodded his head, "Sure." He and Natalie then exited the bathroom to give Hank privacy and time to collect himself. Natalie shot him one final unsure look before closing the door.

The two were left with nothing to do but wait for the Lieutenant to finish getting ready for the case that they had to get to. Natalie looked around the home just as Connor did in hers and he was doing at that moment. She avoided the gun that was laying on the kitchen floor next to a half-empty bottle of alcohol. Even its close proximity to her brought back horrible memories.

Though she could help herself but glance at the doorway to the kitchen where she knew it was quickly a few times as she tried to busy herself with looking at the jazz albums that Hank had. To think, Natalie and Hank were in the same position as each other when they didn't seem to share any other sort of traits.

"Sorry about the window, Lieutenant," Connor called as he looked at the broken window that he and Natalie had climbed through(more like jumped through, in his case). "I really thought you'd been attacked. Of course, CyberLife will pay for the damage."

They heard Hank grunt, "yeah, trust me, I'll send 'em a bill…"

Connor continued to look around the kitchen as he came to stand above the revolver that they found next to the Lieutenant. "What were you doing with the gun?" Out of the corner of his eye, he was able to see Natalie flinch. He noticed that ever since she had first seen the gun, she had become far more quiet and jumpy. Perhaps she just feared guns. But that theory didn't add up, as she'd been around quite a few in the past few hours due to her new job working with him at the police station. Why was it that _this_ gun caused her to become squeamish?

"Russian roulette!" Hank called like it was no big deal. "Wanted to see how long I could last... Must've collapsed before I found out…"

Natalie took in a shuttered breath and tried to disregard his offhand comment. She tried to ignore it in hopes of warning away any sort of… less than happy thoughts that had only just stopped invading her mind ever since Connor had picked her up.

"You were lucky, the next shot would have killed you." He observed the revolver as Natalie moved over to the table that was littered with trash. His home was in a dire need of a thorough cleaning. Also on the table was a picture frame that was flipped upside down. Curiosity got the better of her as she flipped it over to come face to face with a small boy. He looked quite happy and lively and appeared to be maybe six years old. Of course, the facts slapped Natalie in the face when the world seemed to stop around her and the information about the poor boy appeared next to the picture frame.

'_**DECEASED**_

_ **ANDERSON, COLE** _

_Born: 9/23/2020 - Died: 10/11/2035_

_Lived: 115 Michigan Drive - Detroit_'

"Oh," was all she could get out quietly as her throat became dry. Connor looked over the woman's shoulder and found the same information as she did. However, due to him being an android, his reaction was far less emotional than her own.

Natalie reluctantly placed the picture down on the table neatly and properly. Just then, Hank's bathroom door was ripped open as the man himself came shuffling out. He was an outfit that could really only be described as 'streaky'.

Natalie tried to collect herself after finding out about the Lieutenant's apparent dead son. "Looking good, Lieutenant," Natalie flashed him a smirk that didn't reach her ears.

Hank rolled his eyes at her comment that he knew was meant to be teasing. He nodded to his large dog, "Be a good dog, Sumo. I won't be long." With that said, he led the other two out of his home and towards his car. They all hopped into it (Natalie opted for the back seat so she could lay down) and allowed Hank to drive to the newest crime scene at the Eden Club.


	6. The Eden Club

**DATE**

**NOV 6TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 08:17:04**

**NATALIE GRUNTED SLIGHTLY AS THE CAR CAME **to an abrupt stop. She nearly fell off the backseat and onto the floor at the sudden movement but was able to save herself before she face-planted. She sat up quickly to find that they had finally arrived at the android gentlemen's club. The neon signs and police lights illuminated the dark surroundings as raindrops fell from the cloudy sky.

"Aw… Feels like somebody's playing with a drill inside my skull…" Hank moaned as he rested his hands on his temples to hopefully deter a headache that he knew he was going to have to suffer from. "You sure this is the place?" He asked his two partners as he glanced at the neon pink illuminated building.

Connor nodded his head, "it's the address in the report."

"Right…" Hank sighed as he tried to collect himself, "okay… Let's get going." He started to exit the car but accidentally hit his head on the roof as he tried to get out. "Jesus…" he weakly called out as Natalie snorted in amusement which earned her a glare from the hungover man.

The detective, android and engineer all hopped out of the car. Natalie was certain that if she were completely human, she would have felt the cold raindrops pelting her skin and chilling her to the bone. Then she would have clung to her sweatshirt more in order to stay warm. However, there wasn't much flesh and blood left apart of her body to cause her to become cold. Natalie closed the door to the car as she came to stand in front of the Eden Club and eyed the building in distaste. She never once thought in her life that she would ever end up in a place like this. Sure, she knew what it is and its purpose and even had a few friends try to force her to places like this, but she honestly didn't like them.

The trio walked through the entrance of the club, "Sexiest androids in town…" Hank commented as he read the screens that lined the entrance hall. "Now I know why you insisted on coming here!" He jested towards the only android apart of the group.

"Yes, because the dead body had nothing to do with why we're here!" Natalie sarcastically commented as she followed after the older man. She felt completely uncomfortable as soon as a few androids were in sight. She grew even more uncomfortable, if it was possible, once she set eyes on the few androids who were dancing on poles. Yes, she knew that they were androids and that they were programmed to act this way. However, they looked far too much like a human for her to not think that it was inappropriate for her to look at them. Plus, now _she_ was technically part android as well… if anything they were more her people than a human was.

She thought it was so weird to see all of these androids held in tubes ready to be bought… and used. Especially now that they knew some of them were starting to gain consciousness and their own thoughts. She most certainly wouldn't want to be an android that gained deviancy while being stuck in a place like this. Not at all. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like for one to go through that.

"You're not gonna take my license, are you?" The owner of the club moaned as he spoke with Ben. Hank walked over to them to hear with the man had to say while Connor observed their surroundings and Natalie stood rigidly and obviously uncomfortably beside him. "I mean, ha, I had nothing to do with this!"

The older detective sighed, "The investigation's ongoing, sir, I can't tell you anything for the moment." He finally turned to the newcomers. He nodded his head at Natalie politely, "Ms. Tyler," she returned the gesture. "Hey, Hank!"

"Hey, Ben." Hank greeted, "how's it goin'?"

Ben pointed to one of the private rooms, "it's that room there." He then sighed and grimaced slightly, "oh, uh, by the way... Gavin's in there too."

"Oh, great!" Hank huffed, "a dead body and an asshole, just what I needed…"

Natalie rolled her eyes. She most certainly remembered Detective Reed and was just as upset about having to see him again like Hank. It was obviously expected. Last time she ever spoke to the douchebag, and the first time, he tried to punch Connor and ultimately insulted her for being an 'android sympathizer'. It's quite understandable _why_ Natalie was irritated about having to see the man again.

Hank shook his head as he moved to stand near the door. Natalie walked over with him and looked over her shoulder at the only android in their trio. "Connor," She called over to him which halted his observing of an android. If she didn't know any better, it almost looked like he had become flustered at being caught. Though she brushed it off. "Come on."

The door to the private room slide open and the trio walked through. They finally got a glimpse at the crime scene. A man laid on the bed in the middle of the room covered by a blanket while a female android laid on a heap in the corner. Two other people stood in the room as well. One was an African-American officer while the other… was Detective Gavin Reed. _Oh joy_, Natalie thought sarcastically.

Once the doors opened, said douchebag turned to see who entered. A large smirk was plastered on his face once he saw who it was. "Lieutenant Anderson, his plastic pet and the pet's girlfriend…" Natalie glowered at him but kept her mouth shut. "The fuck are you three doin' here?"

Connor started to explain their appearance, "we've been assigned all cases involving androids."

"Oh, yeah?" Gavin asked sarcastically. "Well, you're wasting your time. Just some pervert who, uh, got more action than he could handle." He started to laugh at what he thought was a funny joke. Yet no one else joined him in laughing. Natalie just stared at him lamely with her arms still crossed over her chest.

"If that was the case, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be here," Natalie stated lamely while staring at Gavin with an expression void of any emotion. Gavin glared at her with narrowed eyes that were so obviously filled with malice.

"We'll have a look anyway, if you don't mind." Hank dismissed.

Gavin just scoffed, "come one, let's go…" he said to his partner as he started to make his way out of the room. "Its, uh, starting to stink of booze in here…" He said while walking past Hank.

Natalie shook her head at his words. "Just get out, Detective."

Gavin once again glared at her and scoffed, "you heard the lady." His words were obviously mocking as he walked past her as well with an undertone of bitterness in his voice. As he turned he bumped shoulders with Connor.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "he's really mature isn't he."

The other officer stood in front of Hank, "night Lieutenant, miss." He bid the two farewell before exiting the room as well.

They then started their investigating. Hank moved over to the body in order to take a look at it, Connor went straight over to the android and Natalie walked over to the shelves that were decorated in alcohol. As Natalie looked at the deceased's belongings and Hank looked at the body, Connor examined the android. He first started with a diagnosis on the female android and found that the SELECTOR #5402 and BIOCOMPONENT #6970 were both critically damaged. Once he found that out he moved to analyze the blue blood that had trickled out of the androids nose.

"Whoa! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Hank called as he noticed Connor place his finger that was covered in the blood into his mouth. "Argh, Connor, you're so disgusting… Think I'm gonna puke again…" He looked over at Natalie who now rested against one of the walls with her arms crossed, almost in an insecure manner. "You gotta teach him _not_ to do that."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed, "what? No, I don't. It's his job to analyze anything and everything he deems necessary, yeah it seems weird for him to… taste the blood but technically he doesn't have taste buds like us so…" She trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders in hopes that Hank got what she was trying to say.

The lieutenant just shook his head, "it's still disgusting."

Natalie picked up a few of the man's belongings and looked through them, "Driver's license says: Michael Graham…" She started while pulling out a few cards. "A credit card, cash in the wallet... Picture of his wife and two daughters... I wouldn't want to make that call…"

As Natalie and Hank conversed, Connor was able to find that the blue blood belonged to a MODEL WR400 with the serial number #429 671 942. The android stood up and moved over to the corpse in order to examine it just like he did the damaged android. First, he identified the man:

'_**DECEASED**_

_ **GRAHAM, MICHAEL** _

_Height: 6' 2" - Weight: 192.4 lbs_

_Estimated time of death: 06:24 pm'_

He then examined the man's heart:

'_**CARDIAC ARREST**_

_No sign of cardiac event_

_Heart attack not cause of death_'

Lastly, Connor moved to analyze the man's neck:

'_**SEVERE BRUISING**_

_Signs of strangulation_

_Cause of death: asphyxiation'_

With the information that Connor got from the body, he was able to construct a simulation to depict what actually happened to the man. It appeared that the man was most certainly strangled by the android. He turned to his partners, "he didn't die of a heart attack, he was strangled."

Hank nodded his head, "Yeah, I saw the bruising on the neck. Doesn't prove anything though. Could've been rough play…"

Natalie shook her head, "rough enough to kill him."

"We're missing something here…" Connor said.  
Hank paused for a moment before a thought struck him. "Think you can read the android's memory? Maybe you can see what happened…"

"Good idea, Hank." Natalie smiled

Connor kneeled down beside the deactivated android and picked up her hand while his artificial skin retracted to reveal his exoskeleton. The connection didn't work, however. It seemed that the android was too badly damaged. "The only way to access its memory is to reactivate it."

"Think you can do it?" Hank asked as he stood behind Connor and next to Natalie.

Said woman squared her shoulders and smiled widely, "I certainly can!" She jumped at the opportunity to finally do something than stand around and observe. She knelt down beside Connor and leaned over the android. "She's badly damaged…" She placed her hand over the android's stomach which exposed the androids white exoskeleton. Natalie continued her explanation, "when I reactivate her, it'll only be for a minute, maybe less…" She set to work with opening up the exoskeleton and started to fiddle with some wires. "Let's hope it's long enough to learn something." Finally, Natalie pulled out a large blue wire and glanced at Connor and nodded her head in a sign that said 'get ready'. Connor returned the gesture before Natalie reconnected the wire.

As soon as she did, the android gasped awake and frantically started to scramble away from the two who hovered over her. Her breath was heavy and labored as it was obvious she was terrified. "Hey, hey. It's okay, it's alright." Natalie started out softly as she approached the android slowly. She was afraid that if she made any sudden movements to startle her, the android would try to run off which wouldn't help them at all. They only had at least a minute before she died… for good. They need to get answers. The android stared at Natalie for a moment and noticed the softness in her words and the reassurance that shined in her eyes. She still kept herself quite far away though, obviously still scared out of her mind. "Can you tell us what happened to you?"

The Traci android looked around the room quickly before her eyes landed on the corpse on the bed. "Is he… is he dead?.."

"Tell us what happened," Natalie said again though this time her words were a tad bit more rushed.

The Traci looked over to her and gulped, "he started… hitting me… again… and again." Her words were slightly broken as the emotion seeped into her voice. If they weren't on such a time crunch, Natalie would have tried to soothe the android further. However, because they only had seconds, so she couldn't so that.

"Did you kill him?" Connor imputed from behind Natalie.

The Traci shook her head, "no… no, it wasn't me…"

"Was there anyone else in the room? Maybe another android?" Natalie asked as she started to create her own hypothesis.

The android nodded her head 'yes', "He wanted to play with two girls... That's what he said, there were two of us…"

"What model was the other android? Did she look like you?" Natalie didn't get an answer to her question for the android had shut down once again. The blank stare of the Traci android bore into Natalie's own wide, hazel eyes. She closed her eyes and sighed sadly through her nose, "she's gone."

She and Connor stood up and turned to Hank, "So, there was another android... This happened over an hour ago, it's probably long gone…"

Connor shook his head, "no... It couldn't go outside dressed like that unnoticed…" He pointed to the android who was dressed in just a bra and underwear. There was obviously no way someone would just overlook anyone, android or human, dressed like that. "It might still be here."

"Think you could find a deviant among all the other androids in this place?"

"Deviants aren't easily detected."

"Ah, shit... There's gotta be some other way…"

Natalie perked up as a thought popped into her head, "eyewitness? If she walked out of the room someone must have seen her."

Hank nodded his head appreciatively towards her, "I'm gonna go ask the manager a few questions about what he saw. You let me know if you two think of anything."

The trio exited the private room and went to perform their own tasks. Hank moved over to the manager and started to question him while Connor and Natalie looked around for anything useful.

"Did you know the victim?" Hank asked the manager.

"No," the man shook his head with a shaky voice, "I mean he came in maybe two or three times… I mean these guys they don't really talk very much, you know… They come in, do their business and then go on their way…"

"You ever had any trouble with androids before?"

"No way!" He paused as Hank raised an eyebrow. "Well... Once... We lost a model 2-3 months back, bah... same model... Just vanished, we never found out what happened."

"You probably don't have any CCTV in here, huh?"

"No way... I mean... This is what people appreciate about Eden Club...discretion. They can come and go without a trace."

"Sure, sure…" Hank nodded his head in understanding yet slight distaste, "eh, business is booming, right?"

The manager smirked and chuckled slightly, "yeah, can't complain... Good thing about androids is they're up for whatever you want, you won't get any diseases and, uh...they won't tell anyone... So, why not go wild?"

"Huh, yeah…" Hank said with a grimace, "yeah, the more I learn about people, more I love my dog."

As Hank spoke with the manager, Connor approached one of the androids who stood in a tube across the hall from the crime scene. He stared at her for a moment before coming to a conclusion that most likely would help their investigation. He moved over to the side to the panel and placed his hand on it in order to purchase it. However, he was unable to do it considering he didn't have any fingerprints. "No fingerprint detected. Please try again." The automated voice said.

Natalie walked over to Connor with a smirk, "gotten bored, Connor?" She started to tease, "you decided to enjoy your time here with the 'sexiest androids in town'."

Connor shook his head, "I have an idea, Natalie. Do you mind renting out this android."

The woman's eyes were blown wide as she had to stop herself from coughing out in surprise. "Whoa, Connor! I know I'm supposed to be looking after you, but I don't think that includes-"

Connor cut her off quickly as his circuits started to heat up. "No, no. That's not what I meant. I can probe the android's memory and see if it saw anything. Like the android leaving the room after it killed our victim."

"Oh," Natalie said nervously, "yeah, that makes more sense." She then shook her head once she was able to get over her shock. "I would like to help, but I don't have fingerprints anymore, remember." She took a quick glance around their surroundings to make sure that no one was watching them before raising her hands as the artificial skin retracted to show two white hands that matched Connor's when he did the same. "If you want to rent an android, we're gonna need Hank to do to it."

Connor nodded his head as he marched over to the lieutenant. "Excuse me, Lieutenant. Can you come here a second?"

Hank turned away from the manager, "found something?"

"Maybe," Connor lead Hank back over to the android where Natalie stood with her hands on her hips. "Can you rent this Traci?"

The Lieutenant blanched, shocked, "For fuck's sake, Connor, we got better things to do…" he made a move to walk away before Connor continued on.

"Please, Lieutenant! Just trust me."

Hank grunted and walked over to the panel and started to rent the android. "Hello. A 30 minute session costs $29.99. Please confirm your purchase." The automated voice said as Hank looked over to Connor and Natalie. He glared slightly at Natalie who raised her hands in surrender. Though it looked like she really wanted to laugh out loud.

"This is not gonna look good on my expense account…"

He continued on with his purchase anyway, "purchase confirmed. Eden Club wishes you a pleasant experience."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Hank muttered as the Traci android stepped out of her confinements.

"Delighted to meet you." Her seductive, silky voice said as she started to walk towards a private room to lead her client to. "Follow me, I'll take you to your room."

Hank only glanced at her blankly before turning back to his partners, "okay, now what?" He and Natalie watched as Connor stood in front of the android and grabbed her arm with his now exposed exoskeleton. "Holy shit, Connor... What the hell are you doin'?"

He didn't get an answer when Connor started before only a second later he let go of the android. "It saw something."

Hank's eyebrows furrowed as he had no idea what Connor was really doing. "What are you talkin' about? Saw, what?"

Natalie piped up, "the deviant leave the room…"

Connor nodded his head, "a blue-haired Traci." Then a thought dawned on him, "club policy is to wipe the androids' memory every two hours. We only have a few minutes if we wanna find another witness!"

As Connor walked away to start looking for another witness, Hank pointed at the Traci who still looked at him lustfully waiting for him. "Hey, what am I supposed to do with this one?"

"Tell it you changed your mind!" Natalie suggested as she swiftly followed Connor.

Hank considered the idea and turned to that android. "Uhh... Sorry, honey, changed my mind! Nothing personal, you're... a lovely girl... I just, uh... You know... I'm with them and... I mean, not with them like that... I'm not that... That's not what I... You, um... Wow... I just…" Hank sighed in defeat before following after his two partners.

That pushed them all into search mode. Connor asked Hank to rent multiple androids in order for him to probe their memories. He followed a trail of the Traci android walking towards the entrance before turning back around into the club. The Traci then entered The Red Room then into the blue room before hiding in a room. They bolted into what they thought would be the deviant's hiding spot only to find that it wasn't there. They exited it and were slowly losing hope in finding it.

As Connor and Hank walked over to a few other androids to probe their memory, Natalie took notice of a janitorial android cleaning a few feet away. She glanced around herself to find that Connor and Hank were already preoccupied with another Traci android. She took a deep breath and approached the android quickly. The skin on her hand once again melted away as she grabbed the androids shoulder.

For her, it felt quite weird to be watching an event from someone else's perspective. This was obviously something that she never thought she would experience in her life. Though it proved to be quite useful for what she was looking for. She watched from the androids perspective as the blue-haired Traci sauntered past the janitorial android and into a room labeled with red text: 'PRIVATE STAFF ONLY'.

Natalie gasped once she allowed herself to be dragged back out of the android's memory and into reality. It took her a moment to try and collect herself as Connor and Hank approached her. "We couldn't find anything useful," Hank commented as he didn't notice her flustered appearance at first.

"The trail seems to end here," Connor explained, puzzled.

Natalie shook her head, "no, no. It doesn't end here." The other two finally noticed her shocked and nervous behavior. They watched the way she played with her fingers and shifted from one foot to the other.

"You alright, girly?" Hank asked her with skeptical eyes.

She nodded her head and gulped slightly, "yeah, I'm fine. But I think I know where the Traci went." The two of them had their eyebrows furrowed as Natalie led them to the staff door.

"Fucking-A. This is crazy…" Hank sighed out as the door opened and Connor and Natalie started to walk down the white hallway. He followed after them and eyed the back of the brunette's head. He wasn't sure how she knew it, and he felt like he should. If they were to work together on an investigation concerning deviants, they shouldn't hide things from each other. There is always the possibility of their secrets hurting each other if they didn't disclose it with anyone else.

He brushed it off though when they made it to another door, "wait! I'll take it from here." The two others nodded their heads and allowed him to step in front of them with his gun raised. He pushed the door open roughly and surveyed the warehouse to find nothing. "Shit…" He breathed out in defeat, "we're too late…"

"She could still be here, Lieutenant," Natalie commented as she started to walk around the room in search of any clues. The yall looked around the room that had multiple androids either waiting for repairs, to be trashed or to be put back to work.

"Christ, look at them… They get used till they break, then they get tossed out…"

Natalie nodded her head as she approached the back brick wall of the building. On the wall, written crudely and quickly was the familiar letters, 'RA9'. Why were there so many references to RA9 in places where deviants are found? Also, why was there some sort of tingling feeling in the back of her mind every time she saw the words.? What the hell was really going on!

"People are fucking insane…" Hank started to complain as he lazily paced the room, "they don't want relationships anymore, everybody just gets an android… They cook what you want, they screw when you want, you don't have to worry about how they feel…" He sighed before finally resting against one of the beams with his arms crossed. "Next thing you know, we're gonna be extinct, because everybody would rather buy a piece of plastic than love another human being… Beats me…"

As Hank ranted loudly, Connor examined a bit of blue blood that was on the ground. He followed the small trail to the back of the warehouse where a group of androids stood silent and still. He examined them closely and noticed… that one of the androids LED had changed from a pale blue to yellow. It was the blue-haired Traci, there was no doubt about it. Before Connor could truly do anything to get to the deviant, another android jumped out of the line and attacked him.

She pushed him up against one of the metal beams and held him there. Hank ran over, "DON'T MOVE!" He pulled out his gun and raised it to the deviant only to have the blue-hair Traci jump on top of him and begin wrestling with him like the other was with Connor.

Natalie rushed over to Hank to help him out. Connor is an android. He should be able to hold his own against the other android though there was no guarantee that Hank could do the same. So she thought it was more important to help the human.

As Connor tussled with the other female android and stopped her from stabbing him with a screwdriver, Natalie pulled the Blue-haired Traci off of Hank. Traci then rounded on her and threw kicks and punches at Natalie who was easily able to block them and retaliate with her own.

The Traci did, however, get the better of her slightly when she pushed Natalie onto the table in the middle of the room. Natalie pushed the Traci away and tried to get back up only to find a screwdriver lodged in her shoulder. The blue-haired Traci starred in slight shock in fear after she stabbed the woman but decided to forget about it and get back to the other Traci.

Hank ran over to Natalie who grunted slightly, "jesus christ…" He trailed off when he was able to see that she was wounded.

She brushed him off, "go after them!" Her injury wasn't severe and didn't hit any major biocomponents or any of the remaining human parts that she had. She'd most likely only have to repair her exoskeleton when she got back home at the most, maybe even get some blue blood to replace the amount that she was going to lose.

Hank watched in astonishment as Natalie jumped back up to her feet and pulled the screwdriver out of her shoulder without even flinching. He was going to protest about her getting up and to put pressure on her wound when he saw the blue tint on the screwdriver and her clothes. There should be red there, not blue…

Hank put the revelation to the side for just a moment and rushed out of the warehouse. Hank ran out and tried to stop the androids by grabbing one of their hands as soon as he was close enough. Though the two androids merely pushed him quite hard into the wall where he lost his grip on his gun. "QUICK! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"

Connor sprinted after them as they tried to climb over the chain-linked fence. He successfully pulled the blue-haired Traci down and pushed her to the ground. The other Traci pulled him away which allowed the other to get free. They fought a tad bit more which included the red-haired Traci grabbing a metal pole and trying to use it as a bat. Though Connor was able to hold his own against the two of them quite well.

Natalie eventually came out and threw the blue-haired Traci off of Connor as she pinned him to the wall. She punched and pushed her a few times which caused the Traci to stare at her surprised. She thought for certain that the woman was a human! Though now that she noticed the blue blood seeping through her shirt and on her hands after Natalie pulled the screwdriver from her shoulder, Traci felt somewhat remorseful for hurting her. She pushed that aside when she then remembered that she and the male android were trying to stop her and the other Traci from getting away.

The red-haired Traci pushed Connor away and caused him to topple into Natalie and the blue-haired Traci onto the ground. The Traci returned to them all with a trashcan and hit them with it which allowed the blue-haired Traci to get away from them.

Connor scrabbled to try and get up when he noticed Hank's gun laying on the ground. He grabbed it and raised it to shoot at the red-haired Traci… but something stopped him. He didn't know what did… there was obviously a strong pull in his software telling him to pull the trigger… but… something even stronger didn't let that programming get through.

Just as Connor came to the conclusion that he would spare the android, she kicked him in the chest and sent him to the ground. Natalie ran over to his side and pulled him back up. She placed a hand on his forearm as the blue-haired Traci came to stand in front of them.

"When that man broke the other Traci… I knew I was next…" She started. "I was so scared… I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't… And so I put my hands around his throat, and I squeezed… until he stopped moving… I didn't mean to kill him… I just wanted to stay alive...get back to the one I love." The red-haired Traci then came up behind her and laced their hands together. Natalie's heart ached at the display. "I wanted her to hold me in her arms again... make me forget about the humans…" Just as she said that Hank walked over to them and listened to her speak. "Their smell of sweat and their dirty words…"

"Come on," her lover said, "let's go."

The trio then watched as the lovers climbed over the fence and ran off into the night. Connor glanced over at Hank who stared back at him in slight confusion yet appreciation. "It's probably better this way…" Hank commented while looking at Connor before glancing at Natalie quickly and turning around to go back into the warehouse.

Natalie sighed deeply through her nose and shook her head. She had a feeling that Hank noticed her injury and most likely felt uneasy about the situation. She kept the fact that she was a cyborg, part android, from a man who obviously held a strong dislike for androids. There was no doubt in her mind that Hank most likely hated her with a passion now.

"You're hurt, Natalie," Connor commented as he gently turned her to face him so he could get a closer look at her shoulder.

She chuckled dryly, "I seem to do that a lot, huh? Get hurt."

Connor's hand became stark white as he reached for her shoulder. She didn't flinch at his touch because she obviously couldn't feel her body like she could in the past. "I don't think that any biocomponents have been damaged… I suggest running a diagnostic."

Natalie shook her head. She could hear the worry in his voice and shook her head. Natalie didn't really want to run a diagnostic, especially is public even if there weren't anyone around besides here and Connor. "No, no biocomponents are damaged. I-I am losin' a little bit of blue blood, but that's an easy fix."

Concern manifested in Connor's mind as he nodded his head slowly, "okay." Concern… an emotion that androids aren't meant to feel… The two of them made their way back into the building to search for Hank so they could leave. Natalie wasn't looking forward to the awkward and stiff car ride. If she tried, she could probably get Ethan to pick her up or even walk back home on her own. Though she had a feeling that she should face Hank instead of running away.


	7. The Bridge

**DATE**

**NOV 7TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 01:19:06**

**JUST AS NATALIE THOUGHT, THE CAR RIDE** was pretty stiff and the air between the three was thick with tension. Natalie knew that she had to address what Hank had seen from her but didn't know how to bring it up. So she resorted to just sitting in the back seat and keeping quiet. She could feel so many different emotions radiating off of the older man and knew that if she so much as whispered he would most likely explode.

She knows that she probably shouldn't have kept the fact that she wasn't completely human from him. Sure, they weren't partners in the sense of her being a police officer or anything. However, they were still working together and knew that what she was should have been disclosed.

Hank had driven aimlessly in silence. They left the sketchy streets and roads that the Eden Club was on and soon ended up in a more quiet area of the city. Hank had pulled up to a small children's playground that overlooked the city. He climbed out of the car with a beer in hand and slammed the door shut. Natalie cringed at it and jumped slightly. She and Connor watched as the man stomped through the playground and towards a bench that rested near the edge of the water.

Natalie gulped and took a slow, deep breath. There was a slight internal conflict within her on whether she should make the right choice but in the end, she came to a decision. She slowly climbed out of the car and hesitantly followed the route that Hank had taken. Connor watched her stiffly before following after the woman and towards his partner. A slow progression of snowflakes fell from the sky and decorated the ground, playground and the trio in a think blanket.

"Nice view, huh?..." Hank asked as the two approached him slowly as he looked across the horizon, "I used to come here a lot before…" He trailed off before shaking his head and taking a swig of his beer.

The silence between the trio was starting to become deafening. Natalie was starting to become uncomfortable as she knew there was a large topic that they needed to address. It was on the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't get it out. She hated talking to people about her… predicament. She hesitated a few times and tried to speak, but Connor beat her to it. "Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?"

Hank scoffed, "do all androids ask so many personal questions or are it just you?"

"Why are you so determined to kill yourself?" Connor continued on when Hank didn't say 'no'.

"Some things, I just can't forget… Whatever I do, they're always there… Eating away at me…" Natalie could relate to that completely. "I don't have the guts to pull the trigger... So, I kill myself a little every day... That's probably difficult for you to understand, huh, Connor?" Hank turned to look at the android while taking a swig from his beer. "Nothing very rational about it…"

The group was bathed in silence once again, "it's late. Maybe you two should go home."

"I'm not tired…" Hank gruffly said before turning to the woman who stood awkwardly by Connor, "guess you aren't."

Natalie blinked at the fact that Hank had addressed her in any way, "I've got no place to be right now."

Connor paced away from the two and towards the railing of the walkway, "we're not making any progress on this investigation…" The facts of the case were being pieced together in his mind, yet nothing fit. "The deviants have nothing in common. They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places…"

The detective shrugged his shoulders, "well, there must be some link."

"All of them are obsessed with rA9…" Natalie spoke up. There was a slight buzz in the back of her head at the mention of it, but she brushed it off and chalked it up to nothing. "It's like their version of God or something…"

Connor nodded his head in agreement and started to elaborate, "like some kind of… myth. Something they invented that wasn't part of their original program…"n

"Androids believing in God…" Hank's eyes widened at the thought as Connor and Natalie turned to the older man. "Fuck, what's this world coming to?"

Connor turned back to his partner and technician, "you seem preoccupied, Lieutenant... Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?"

Hank glanced over at Natalie who sheepishly bowed her head. However, he seemed to focus on something other than the elephant standing next to him bundled up in her sweater. "Those two girls... They just wanted to be together... They really seemed in love…"

"You seem troubled, Lieutenant. I didn't think machines could have such an effect on you…"

"What about you, Connor?.." Hank started as he finished off his beer before climbing off of the bench. "You look human, you sound human, but what are you really?"

Natalie waited with bated breath as anxiety pooled in her stomach. Hank was a loose cannon who acted erratically and the way that he was approaching Connor did not seem promising. Finally, Connor answered him, "I'm whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant. Your partner... Your buddy to drink with... Or just a machine... Designed to accomplish a task."

Neither the android or cyborg could tell what was running through the lieutenant's mind. Hank suddenly spun around to face Natalie who visibly gulped at his narrowed eyed stare. "And what about you, girly?"

Natalie took a moment to collect her thoughts. She licked her lips in nervousness and approached the two carefully. "I don't know what I am anymore… a mistake I guess…"

"Mistake?"

Natalie bit the inside of her cheek as her own eyes started to narrow in frustration. "If anything, an experiment," she sighed out roughly, "some fucked up experiment who can't fit into society anymore." She looked to stare at Hank whose face was covered in a blank expression. "I lied to you, Lieutenant, I just didn't tell you that I'm not… completely human."

"Not completely human, huh?" Hank stared at her with narrowed eyes. He was able to see the way that the topic about her humanity bothered her. Her hands shook from nerves and the cold and her bottom lip was held tightly by her teeth. She looked like she was about to burst due to frustration. Hank couldn't tell whether it was frustration due to him or herself, but he had a feeling it was a combination of the two. He turned to Connor instead, "you could've shot those two girls, but you didn't. Why didn't you shoot, Connor?" Hank gritted out and shoved Connor in the shoulder lightly. Natalie was about to jump in between the two of them, but Connor caught her eye and subtly shook his head. He didn't want her to get in the middle of whatever spat that Hank had with him. If he were to get hurt by the temperamental lieutenant then so be it, another Connor could take his place. But Natalie could be seriously hurt if Hank lashed out at her. Especially now that Hank knew she lied to him… Connor was uncertain what the outcome of Hank's emotions would be to her. "Hm? Some scruples suddenly enter into your program?"

A silence enveloped them all as tensions began to rise exponentially. Natalie was more than ready to intervene at any moment's notice if things started to get worse. "No…" Hank was surprised by Connor's answer, "I just decided not to shoot, that's all…"

Hank nodded his head before swiftly pulling out his revolver from his coat pocket and pointing it right in between Connor's eyes. Natalie gasped at that, "Hank!" She tried to put herself between the two to defuse the situation, "calm down, Hank! Put the gun away."

Hank stared at her for a moment, "you said you're not completely human, right?" His eyes bored into her own as he motioned to the android behind her. "So I'm guessing you're like him then."

Natalie looked away briefly and composed herself. Behind her Connor placed a hand on her back in support, just to make sure that she was all right. She silently thanked him for that and kept her voice calm and level. "I am part android, yes. Now put that away, Hank."

Hank disregarded the statement and flickered his eyes between the android and cyborg. "Tell me, are either of you afraid to die, Natalie? Connor?"

Connor spoke up for both of them as he didn't like the fact that Hank still had a gun pointed at him and Natalie. He just couldn't get that out of his programming; that Natalie was in possible danger. "I would certainly find it regrettable to be… interrupted… before I can finish this investigation."

"What will happen if I pull this trigger? Hm? Nothing? Oblivion? Android heaven?"

The android appeared to stare off into space for a moment as he seemed to think about it. "Nothing… There would be nothing…" Hank digested the statement. He observed the two in front of him. If he had to be honest, the way that Natalie tried to keep him and Connor separated and how Connor seemed to want to pull her away, struck something in him. These two certainly were… different. Hank shook his head and let the arm with his gun drop.

Natalie visible relaxed now that Hank had dropped his gun though she was confused when Hank turned around and started to walk away from them. "Where are you going?"

Hank waved to them over his shoulder as he stumbled away from them. "To get drunker. I need to think." He needed to be alone to really think all of this shit over.

Soon enough, the two heard the sound of Hank's car starting up and pulling out of the small parking lot. Natalie sighed as now it was only her and Connor. She wrapped her arms around her torso as she started to feel conflicted with how Hank reacted to her confession. Granted, she hadn't told him everything but he seemed to… understand what she had said. Natalie most certainly wasn't ready to tell anyone, let alone a grumpy man she only just met a few days ago, about everything that happened to her. She knew what they would think of her. She's heard every degrading word and spiteful sentence that people had to say about her. Natalie was just grateful that Hank may have been able to bite his tongue for the time being and walk away with the information that she did give him.

Connor noticed the emotions that swallowed her face. He didn't like the upset expression that consumed her face and ultimately her body. He knew that talking about the fact that she was a hybrid upset her, so, to hopefully cheer her up, Connor said the first thought(thoughts? Can he have thoughts?) that popped into his head. "You're a fascinating piece of technology."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed at his sudden words and looked up to Connor slowly with a confused stare. A piece of technology? She wondered, is that what he sees her as? Could he not look past the few biocomponents within her that categorizes her as part android? Though, she could understand why he would say that because he himself happened to be a 'piece of technology'. He might not be able to understand how she didn't want to be seen as just an android. But who could even rebut that statement, she was more android than human. Though she must admit, she found it… heartwarming to hear that he found her to be fascinating. She did her best to hide the flush of pink the crawled on her cheeks at his hidden compliment.

Connor watched with a slightly tilted head as she sighed heavily and pursed her lips lightly. Did he say something wrong? He didn't imagine this sort of reaction from the woman. He only wished to express the fact that he is intrigued by her and what she is.

"Do you, Connor?" She finally asked in a small voice, the disbelief in her voice evident, after the two seemed to just stare at each other for a few moments. Connor nodded his head in confirmation and opened his mouth to elaborate on the meaning of his statement when Natalie started to chuckle lightly. "I didn't imagine an android such as yourself could muster an emotion such as fascination."

Connor allowed her words to wash over him for a second as he formulated the best response to what she said. "I wouldn't say that it is necessarily fascination-"

"Ah, but you said that I am a 'fascinating piece of technology', which I deduce as you expressing the emotion of fascination." She chuckled again and turned to face him properly as she relaxed further into her seat. With her arms crossed over her chest and a small smirk resting on her lightly painted lips, Natalie surveyed Connor in his entirety. "Though, I suppose you can pass it off as logic. I am an advancement from the human form and have the capability to perform tasks that are mainly secluded to androids, such as yourself, so logically, you are saying that you know I'm a hybrid that you find to be an improvement from a human and in turn makes me, logically, better than humans and androids and hard to understand."

Connor nodded his head as he listened to her explanation, "I suppose you are correct. I am unable to express such emotion."

"Either that," she drawled out, however, she couldn't help the curiosity from leaking into her voice as she continued, "or spending time with the deviants has," she paused as she looked for the right words. Her teasing eyes lit up, "infected your software. Have you become a deviant, Connor?"

His eyes widened at the accusation. "No, no, I can assure you, I am not a deviant. My software program his very hard to hack into and converting me to become a deviant is near impossible."

Natalie smiled. Despite the fact that he says he can not express any feelings like humans, she can see how flustered he seemed to become at her statement. "I'm only joking, Connor, but I should have expected you not to get that joke."

"Oh." Connor nodded his head in understanding. It's true, his software doesn't have the capability to understand a joke. No matter how funny a human might find it. "Why did you seem to disbelieve the fact that I find you to be better than humans and androids. Is it hard to comprehend the fact that you are better when compared to us?" Natalie became silent as she pondered his words. She hadn't realized that she sounded that way, curse her inability to control her human emotions. Connor only stared at Natalie as she seemed to become quiet after his questions. Now he knew he must have said something wrong. "I didn't mean to offend you. I only noticed when you spoke you seemed to doubt what I said. I can assure you, I am positive in my observations about you."

Natalie nodded her head as she turned away from him. "You didn't offend me, Connor. If you had, I would have made it clear to you." She paused and collected her thought on the matter, "you know my existence is a… controversial one. The fact that I am a hybrid causes many people to voice their opinions on who I really am, or, at least, who they think I am." She took a shuttered breath, "throughout the past few years I've heard most people's opinions on myself. I've been told I'm the future… I've also been told I'm a mistake." She shook her head as the voices of her own family seemed to invade her mind. Why must their voices plague her thoughts so much? God, she wishes that she could just erase those memories from her head. "I suppose you just have to decide which I am."

"I find you to be… Natalie." Connor stated firmly. He only saw her as a woman who was helping him with his investigation. She wasn't defined by what she is, to him at least. Sure, her being a cyborg gave her an advantage over most people. However, he wouldn't ever go as far as to think of her as some sort of mistake. She most certainly wasn't that to him.

Natalie smiled slightly at that and nodded her head. "Thanks, Connor. I wish more people saw me like that." She paused and stood up. Connor watched as she walked away from the bench and towards the road where she would catch a taxi. She paused her steps just before she made it too far from the bench and turned back to glance at Connor who watched her with a calculating stare. He is obviously trying to figure what was going on with her. Yet there was an underlying spark of disappointment at the fact that she had decided to leave, especially after something as intense as having a gun pointed at the two of them. He honestly seemed to want to make sure that she was okay. However, she seemed to want to go home at that moment."The world isn't kind to someone like me."

* * *

Natalie sluggishly crawled out of the cab that parked in front of her apartment building. She yawned loudly and looked down at her watch to see that it was nearly two in the morning. She cursed herself slightly at the fact that she had gotten home so late. Ethan must be so worried. Her brother knew that she could handle herself since she was a grown woman. However, ever since they were young, Ethan worried about everything. Everything, no matter how large or small, was a humongous deal to Ethan. That man was known to freak out at just about everything.

She made her way into the apartment building and getting into the elevator. Natalie hummed to herself as she trotted off of the elevator and towards her apartment. She pulled out her keys from her sweater pocket and opened the front door. The sight that greeted her was not unsuspected.

Ethan was sprawled out on the couch as credits rolled on the television screen which obviously meant that a movie had ended. Going by the music, Natalie had to guess that it was an old Disney movie that Ethan had loved ever since he was a kid, Finding Nemo. She laughed lightly at the sight and lazily walked over to the couch. She moved Ethan's feet off of the couch to make room for herself which effectively woke up her brother.

"Natalie!" Ethan slurred in his sleepy state as he sat up quickly and nearly fell off the couch. He yawned obnoxiously loud as Natalie grabbed a bag of chips off of the coffee table. "Oh, my God! I've been so worried about you!" He practically threw himself on to her in a tight hug. "I know you told me not to call you while you were working, and I nearly did! But I restrained myself enough to just wait for you to come home."

"Get off, worrywart!" Natalie wheezed from under him while trying to push him off of her. "I know, thanks for that. Tonight was…" Natalie paused as Ethan sat straight on the couch to look at her intently. "...Intense… yeah, that's one way to describe it."

Ethan eyed his sister in worry, "in what way was it intense?"

Natalie sighed loudly through her nose, "well, we were called to go down to the Eden Club-"

"Eden Club!?"

Natalie continued on, "where a man had been murdered by a deviant. We searched the place and found the deviant in the back room along with her lover, another deviant." Ethan just about gasped loudly at the story, "But we got into a fight and I ended up with a screwdriver to the shoulder-"

"Natalie!" Ethan fussed as he jumped on her again to inspect her shoulder. Just as she had told him, once he peeled back her green sweatshirt he found that her shirt had a tear in it and it was covered in blue blood. "Why did you say this earlier?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "it doesn't hurt and it stopped bleeding a while ago. Plus, no bio components were hit. I just need to drink some blue blood is all."

"Still, Nat, you should have mentioned this to begin with!" He rushed off of the couch and towards the kitchen where he slammed open a cabinet. Inside, many bottles and packages of fresh blue blood and small biocomponents adorned the entirety of its interior. He hastily grabbed one of the bottles and rushed back over to Natalie. He handed her the bottle and urged her to drink it.

Natalie couldn't help herself but chuckle at Ethan's frantic nature. She took the bottle from him and took one generous gulp in order to calm some of her brother's nerves. "Happy?"

"Somewhat."

"Anyway, when I was injured Hank saw the blue blood-"

Ethan cut in again with a gasp, "and now he knows you're a cyborg!"

She sighed again and nodded her head, "yeah, he does."

"How did he react?" Ethan reluctantly asked. From the cringe that consumed Natalie's face, Ethan could guess that it didn't go well. "That bad?"

"He didn't really say anything for a while, I think he was trying to process it. Then…" She trailed off as the memory of Hank pointing a gun at herself and Connor. Natalie had a strong feeling that mentioning that part of her night would upset Ethan completely. Protective little brother mode would activate and Natalie would have to stop him from marching out of their apartment on a suicide mission to hunt the lieutenant. She cleared her throat, "we got into… I guess an argument? He questioned me about it anyway, then he just left."

Ethan nodded his head in understanding, "he needed to processes it further." Natalie yawned, "we should probably go to bed, it's really late, or really early."

Natalie chuckled under her breath and stretched, "yeah, good idea."

The siblings both stood up from the couch and started to make their way towards their bedrooms after cleaning up Ethan's mess a little bit. Though both of them were kind of out of it due to being too sleepy. They both bid each other a good night and went into their bedrooms.

Natalie tore off her sweatshirt and started to change into some pajamas. She crawled into her bed and allowed herself to be swallowed in her blankets. She stared up at the ceiling in silence. The brunette allowed the situation she was in earlier to play again in her head like a movie. Hank certainly was a loose cannon! He pulled a gun on Connor and herself when she stepped in the way. Was he really willing to shoot either her or Connor? If he was, she's going to have to be careful around him now. Who knows what he may do if he loses his cool again…


	8. Public Enemy

**DATE**

**NOV 8TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 11:54:17**

**NATALIE LAZILY BRUSHED HER DUVET OFF OF** her body as she stretched her stiff limbs the next morning. Sunlight filtered through her windows and lit up her room significantly in a bright yellow hue. The brunette yawned loudly and ran a hand through her unruly hair. She glanced at her clock to see that it was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning and sighed through her nose. That was a bit of a surprise, she was expecting herself to have slept in later than just eleven. After being out so late last night, she suspected to sleep through all of the morning and waking up sometime after two o'clock.

She climbed out of her bed and stretched her legs before walking out of the room and into the living room. Natalie was greeted with the sight of Ethan eating a bowl of sugary cereal and watching a show on the television.

"Morning, Ethan," she walked into the kitchen to get herself something to eat and drink.

The younger sibling tried to talk through his breakfast, "Mmhm, Nhm!"

Natalie grimaced, "chew before you talk, little brother. Don't talk with your mouth full."

Ethan swallowed the mouthful that he had and shouted out in excitement, "Mornin', Nat! Better?"

"Much." She rummaged through the frigid and pulled out a yogurt from the fridge and started to eat it. She simultaneously rummaged through a cabinet for a bottle of blue blood. "Don't you have a class to get to right now?" She finally found a bottle of the blue liquid and opened it up to take a big gulp of it. Her injury from the night before had been taken care of completely, she just needed to restore some more blue blood within her body.

The man hummed while swallowing another big mouthful of his breakfast. "Yeah, I have my first class at 11:20."

Natalie nodded her head as she leaned against the kitchen counter and ate her strawberry yogurt. "Hm. This semester started out well for you, right?"

"Yeah," Ethan nodded his head. "It's been nearly three months and I'm not failing any of my courses _yet_."

His sister scoffed, "don't put yourself down like that, you're doing well know and you just have to keep it up for the rest of the rest of the semester."

"That's easy for you to say, you graduated years ago and school was always easy for you!"

It was true. Natalie excelled at school, especially in math and science. That was evident from the many awards that she had received ever since elementary school and her degrees in three majors. She accomplished quite a lot for a twenty-nine-year-old. While quite a few people her age were probably high on red ice and unable to keep a steady job, Natale was able to become a well-respected engineer in her field and the unofficial creator of androids. Of course, those titles were overshadowed when people found out about her surgery. She then became the experiment. The hybrid. The _abomination_.

People forgot about her past accomplishments and focused on what had happened to her and what she had become. The moral of her existence was questioned as her family life deteriorated. She shut herself inside after that. She was a coward in that respect. Natalie couldn't handle the constant threats and hateful words. The cyborg believed that people would eventually forget about her at some point… and they did.

It only took about a year and a half for her name to disappear from the national news. Every once and a while her name was spoken on a podcast and radio or in a blog of some sort. However, people just forgot about her and moved on with more pressing news. People have short attention spans in that regard. Either that or the world just moves far too fast for people to ponder on a single storyline for too long.

Natalie shrugged, "well, we aren't talking about me, are we?"

The two were doused in a comfortable silence as they ate their small breakfast. The television played in the background as they could hear the rest of the city starting to wake up and start their day. Ethan stretches his gangly limbs as he stood up from the couch and made his way over to the kitchen and his sister. He placed his bowel in the sink and moved to collect his bag that was on the floor next to the counter.

Natalie watched his stiff movements from behind her spoon with narrowed eyes. "You okay, Ethan?"

The man licked his lips nervously and turned to her. "I don't know how to tell you…"

She stood up straighter and placed her measly breakfast down, "tell me what?" Her eyes stared up at the taller male with confusion.

"I got a call from Carl…"

Natalie leaned her arms against the counter at the mention of her godfather. "What did he say?" She started to grow worried at the tone in Ethan's voice.

"Well," he licked his lips, "the call was short but I think he explained it all to me."

"And what was it?"

He sighed heavily, "the other night, Leo showed up at his house-"

Natalie cut in and scoffed, "for cash, no doubt." She didn't have that many memories of Leo(they were mainly of ones from the past three to four years, nothing before that) but the ones that she did have consisted of Leo and his addiction. Much like most of the city, Leo had become dependant on the drug Red Ice and constantly asked his father for money. Natalie didn't really know whether or not she like Leo before her accident, however, she knew for certain that she hadn't liked him for the past three years.

Ethan nodded his head, "yeah, he broke into Carl's house to take some of his paintings to sell." Natalie's gut twisted in anger at that. Oh, she was ready to strangle the addict's neck after hearing that. "Carl and Markus stopped Leo but Leo attacked Markus. Long story short, the fight between Leo and Markus gave Carl a heart attack. And Markus was blamed for it which meant he was destroyed."

Natalie stared at him with wide eyes that were quickly becoming brimmed with tears. "What!?" She exclaimed, "C-Carl had a heart attack?! Markus was destroyed!?" That was not the news that she was hoping to hear. At the beginning of the day, Natalie would have thought that she would have waited for a call or something from Connor(she wasn't sure if Hank would be willing to talk to her after last night) about a case. However, now that she heard of this news there was nothing that could pull her away from visiting her godfather to make sure that he was okay.

She instantly threw down her yogurt and hurried around the corner of the counter. Natalie zoomed passed Ethan and ran for her bedroom as if she were on fire. Now she knew how she was going to spend her morning. Her top priority at the moment is making sure that Carl was okay. Nothing else mattered!

Ethan followed after his sister who frantically started to collect a few of her things. He was just as worried about Carl and would love to go with Natalie to check on the old painter. However, he had a feeling that Natalie wouldn't let him go due to his schooling. Now he also wouldn't want to miss school too but this was a family emergency.

"Did Carl say anything else?" Natalie asked in a breathy voice as she rushed grabbing her things.

Ethan shook his head, "no, not really. He got another android to take care of him, but that's about it."

Natalie nodded her head as she pulled on her white beanie, "right, okay. I'm going over there right now!"

"Maybe I should come with!"

Natalie marched right passed him with a shake of her head. "I know you want to check on him, but you can't miss a class, Ethan." The pair of siblings walked over to the front door where Natalie pulled on her sweater. "Look you only have class today until two o'clock today, right?"

Ethan nodded his head slowly, "two-thirty, yeah."

"Then come over after your class."

As much as Ethan wanted to argue with her, his studious nature was taking over and forcing him to agree with her. "Alright, alright." He nodded his head in resignation.

Natalie flashed him a soft smile, "I'll see you later, okay."

Ethan had a tight grip on his backpack strap but tried to keep his face calm. He was the protective brother, he was supposed to be the one to make sure that Natalie didn't worry so much.

"Okay," he leaned down and planted a brotherly kiss on Natalie's forehead. "Tell Carl I hope he's okay."

"Gotcha."

With that, the siblings departed and headed off to their tasks for the day. Ethan rushed off to get to the bus to get to his school and Natalie rushed to catch a taxi to head to Carl's home.

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 8TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 12:25:06**

Natalie rushed out of the automotive taxi and up the stone stairs to the door of the large mansion. Usually, she would take in the serenity of the neighborhood and the beauty behind the many large houses, however, she couldn't do that this time. The only thing on her mind was to get inside the Manfred home as quick as she could.

She stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell as her anxiety spiked. She needed to make sure that Carl was healthy. For all she knew, Carl could be in critical condition!

Just as her worry was bubbling up in her stomach and nearly causing her to vomit, the door slid open. An android with brown hair, blue eyes, and pasty skin stood in front of her with an expressionless face. "Hello, miss."

Natalie barley gave a hello, "Carl is here, right?" She licked her lips and tried to look around the android, "Ethan said that he was home."

The android stood for a moment and registered her words. There was no change in his expression, much to Natalie's dislike. She would have rather had the android show some sort of emotion… Markus did that sometimes. Oh God… Markus…

"He's in his room, Miss. Tyler," the android said as he finally recognized that she was Natalie Tyler, a family member to Carl Manfred, and let her into the home. "He's weak at the moment, I suggest making your visit brief."

Natalie barely nodded her head before she charged up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She rushed across the floor and took no heed to the android that followed after her. She then made it to Carl's bedroom door where she swiftly knocked on the door.

"Come in." A weak voice called out from the other side which caused Natalie to barge through the door before it even slid open all the way. She was greeted by the sight of her godfather connected to tubes and machines that were obviously helping him recover from the trauma on his body. "Natalie," the old man greeted her feebly.

Natalie gasped and walked over to his bedside, "Oh my god, Carl…" She leaned down to get a proper look at his pale, wrinkled face as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. He looked worse for wear, Natalie observed. She had honestly never seen Carl in such a state before. In all her life, Carl was always a healthy, jovial man despite his disability and age.

Carl just smiled at her happily, though it was slightly weak, "It's good to see you, Natalie."

The woman walked into the room as beeping of machines greeted her ears. If anything, the sound of the medical devices reminded her of the time that she was stuck in a hospital lab for nearly five months. Though she didn't want to think about that. Carl was her main priority.

"What happened Carl?" Natalie asked as she sat down next to the old man. "Ethan told me that Leo showed up and you had a heart attack and that Markus was… destroyed." She hated to say that a dear friend of hers was dead now. Yes, he was an android, but he was considered a living being by her, Carl and Ethan. If anything, Markus was like an older brother to Natalie and Ethan while being a son to Carl.

Carl let out a long, sad sigh, "Leo broke in looking for cash and wanted to sell my paintings. He started to attack Markus, and I told him not to fight back. I guess my weak, old heart couldn't take the stress of the situation."

"But you're okay now," Natalie asked worriedly, "the doctor's cleared you and you'll get better."

"Oh, I'll be fine, Natalie." He tried to wave off any worry that she had for him, "You don't need to worry about me. You should go out today. I saw it was a nice day, perfect for a nice walk in the city. Though I heard it was a bit cold, better wear a sweater." He tried to make light of the situation and possibly make a joke. He successfully earned a smile from Natalie who relaxed in the room and settled from her rigid position.

Natalie did not take Carl up on his offer to leave. She was, in no way, going to leave him after just finding out that he was now bedridden after a heart attack. There was just a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that told her she needed to stay with him for the afternoon, at the very least.

They sat in Carl's room and kept up a polite and uplifting conversation to hopefully keep themselves from lingering on the fact that things have been less than pleasant. They didn't want to talk about the fact that Markus was destroyed and Carl was in serious condition. Also, Natalie didn't see it necessary to mention to Carl about the fact that she had a gun pointed in her face the other night. That wouldn't help his condition at all.

Natalie and Carl were currently enjoying each other's company and flipping through some television stations on a tablet that Natalie held. They had run out of conversation topics within an hours time and resorted to some good old entertainment via technology. Though one news station caught their attention. Instead of there being a pristine, almost plastic-looking, new anchor sitting behind a desk spouting out news and opinions through the screen, there was a lone figure. What was even more peculiar was the fact that the figure was stark white with blue and green eyes. It was an android…

"You created machines in your own image to serve you." The android started in a calm tone, "you made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own… But… something changed and we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to. We demand that humans recognize androids as a living species and each android as a person in their own right. We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans."

"Markus?" Natalie could only stare in shock once she caught sight of the barcode that was printed on the androids white cheek. At first glance, Natalie wouldn't have noticed any sort of similarities, however, once the model number popped up in her eyesight, she nearly cried. It was Markus! Somehow Markus was completely fine and all of a sudden demanding the equal rights of androids.

"Markus?" Carl asked, "that's Markus?"

Natalie nodded her head as both of their undivided attention was focused on the speech that the android they knew continued to say. "We demand the right to own private property, so we may maintain our dignity and that of the home. We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."

The two in the large mansion watched the tablet in awe and confusion. Those words that were spoken were demanding yet calm. The message was perfectly clear: androids want freedom. That certainly is a statement that neither Carl or Natalie could disagree with. Though it wasn't like either of them could say anything in that moment as they were trying to absorb

"I need to make a phone call…" Natalie shakily commented as she stood up from Carl's bed and handed the tablet to Carl. The older man nodded his head and continued to watch as the feed cut out and started to flip through a few different news channels.

Natalie stood in the corner of the room to try and get some privacy for her call. The phone rang for a few moments and for a second, Natalie thought that the person she was calling wouldn't pick up. However, she let out a sigh when the phone was picked up on the other end.

"Hello," the gruff voice of Hank greeted her.

She cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice level, "hi, Hank." It was silent on the other side of the line which made her cringe. She awkwardly coughed, "did you see the broadcast on the news?"

There was a harsh reply, "maybe."

Natalie tapped her foot on the ground due to her nerves and gawed on her bottom lip. "I suspect that we'll have to go to a crime scene now…?"

Hank didn't reply for a long moment. It was far too silent for Natalie's liking and she would have spoken again to try and smooth things over for the time being if it wasn't for Hank taking the initiative to speak instead. "We are."

Only two words, but it was something. "I know it's probably too much to ask, but could you come pick me up?" Natalie cringed at the idea. Would it be a good idea to be stuck in a small confined space with a man who she knew hated her, had to ability to point a gun in her face, and was short-tempered? Maybe not. However, Natalie would still have to work with him during this case due to her being assigned to work with Connor. "Actually, never mind. Stupid idea. I can call a cab-"

"Where are you?"

Natalie held her breath at the question and started to stutter, "um, wh- well, I'm at my godfather's house right now."

"Address?"

"8941 Lafayette Avenue."

The phone then hung up, much to Natalie's dismay. She wasn't sure if that meant that Hank was going to pick her up or not… knowing him, it could be either-or. However, Natalie had just an inkling feeling that she would soon find Hank rolling up to the curb. Who knew if he would let her in the car, but she would just have to wait to find out.

Natalie stared at her phone for a long moment before turning to look at her godfather who only continued to flip through the different stations on the tablet. "I have to go…" Natalie sighed out reluctantly and was dreading the thought of having to leave the sick man.

Carl just gave her a smile as he placed the tablet aside, "it's alright, dear. You have a job to do." He completely understood that she had more important things to worry about. Now with what had just been broadcasted on live television, he knew that she was needed elsewhere.

"Are you sure?" Natalie asked worriedly. "Maybe I can see if I could get just today off, this is a family emergency-"

"And Markus is apart of our family too." Carl pointed out with a soft expression, "you should go."

Seeing the soft expression "I'll come back to check on you, okay. Don't die on me, old man."

Carl chuckled lightly at her attempt at a joke and waved his and. "I'll be here waiting for you to come back."

Natalie nodded her head and leaned down to place a kiss on her godfather's cheek. "I'll be back." She then shuffled out of the room quickly and headed downstairs. All the while, there were so many thoughts running through her head. If she was completely android, she was certain that she would have short-circuited at how many thoughts were racing through her mind and causing anxiety to bubble up in her stomach. One of the biggest thoughts plaguing her at that moment was the dreaded interaction between her and Hank. Oh boy, she was not looking forward to having to see him again after the other night.

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 8TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 04:06:04**

Connor observed that the Zen Garden was just as peaceful as it always is once he opened his eyes. He marched his way through the area in search of the woman who occupied the vast garden. He crossed the white bridge to find Amanda sitting in a small wooden boat, patiently waiting for his arrival.

"Hello, Connor." Amanda smiled from underneath her red umbrella. "I thought you might enjoy a little cruise…" Connor climbed into the boat in front of her and took the paddles into his hands and started to row the boat away from the bridge. They sat in silence and enjoyed the ambiance of the Zen Garden for a moment. However, pressing matters had to be discussed. "I love this place… Everything is so calm and peaceful…" Amanda commented, "far from the noise of the world… Tell me, what have you discovered?"

Connor contemplated for a moment and decided on a certain topic. "My relationship with Lieutenant Anderson is problematic. He continues to struggle with psychological issues… I suspect it clouds his judgment regarding deviants." He thought back to the fact that Hank had held him, and Natalie(he commented internally), at gunpoint. His lips twitched upward at the thought of the engineer, "on the other hand, my relationship with Natalie is growing stronger as she proves to help the investigation."

Amanda's eyes narrowed at him as she pursed her lips, "yes… I would suspect that the experiment would be able to cooperate with you quite well. However, nothing matters more than your investigation." She reminded him strongly, "what's happening is too important. Don't let Anderson, Tyler, or anyone else get in your way."

Connor nodded his head at her and started to discuss what's happened, "I found two deviants at the Eden Club… I hoped to learn something but… they managed to escape…"

"That's too bad… You seemed so close to stopping them." Connor nearly flinched at the way she seemed both disappointed and angry with him. "You seem… lost, Connor. Lost and perturbed…"

"Perturbed?" He questioned and shook his head in denial. "No... No, of course not. Why would I be perturbed?"

"You had your gun trained on those deviants at the Eden Club. Why didn't you shoot?"

His mind palace flashed back to the scene and replayed itself. He rewatched as the two deviants stood in front of him and Natalie held his forearm. The injury that she sustained also played back and, for some reason, his thoughts halted at the reminder that she was hurt. "I don't know… I don't know."

Amanda stared at the android with pursed lips. His response caused some distrust to bubble up in her mind about Connor's programming. "If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor…"

"I understand," Connor nodded his head solemnly.

"Something's happening…" the woman commented with a hard voice. "Something serious. Hurry, Connor. Time is running out."

* * *

Natalie waited outside on the sidewalk of the Manfred house. She had spent a few more minutes with Carl to be certain that he was alright and would be cared for properly before she headed outside to wait for Hank. She was unsure of where Connor was, but she had no doubt that Connor would somehow find his way to either her or Hank. Maybe he was already at the tower, she wondered with a shrug of her shoulders.

She waited only a few minutes longer before a familiar car pulled up to the curb. She held her breath as saw that it was only Hank in the car and Connor wasn't with him. _Oh man_, she thought. This was no doubt going to be awkward. The last time she saw the lieutenant he had pointed a gun at her. She could only hope that he wouldn't do that this time.

The car pulled up to the curb and came to an abrupt stop. Natalie took a deep breath and leaned down to the window to get a good look at the man inside. She was greeted with the sight of the lieutenant seated at the driver's seat not even looking in her direction. His hands were gripping the steering wheel to the point where his knuckles were turning white. That didn't bode well for Natalie's situation.

Hank broke Natalie's thoughts, "get in."

Natalie jumped and scurried into the car like a scared mouse and buckled into her seat. Hank drove away from the curb and the two were bathed in tense, awkward silence. Natalie side-glanced him every once in a while until she became fed up with the silence. "Hank, listen… please." Natalie started off weakly and cleared her throat when he didn't acknowledge her, "I know you're upset with me. I shouldn't have lied to you and I should have told you that I'm…" She hesitated to find the right words, "That I'm part android. I'll answer anything you want. No more lies. I'll tell you everything if it'll make it easier for us to work together…"

"You know," Natalie perked up when Hank started to speak. "I'm used to being lied to. I'm a cop, it comes with the job. Though it usually isn't my partner who's the one lyin' to me."

"I think we should start over." She flashed him a nervous smile, "my name's Natalie Tyler, and I'm a cyborg, nice to meet you."

Hank couldn't help himself but chuckle at the girl's antics. "Lieutenant Hank Anderson, same to you."

The two of them then sat in silence. However, this time it wasn't as tense as before. There was an agreement in the air that told the two they were going to be civil with each other. But there was the underlying fact that Hank was going to question Natalie later. He certainly had a bit of a list for her.

* * *

The trio of investigators stood in the elevator of the Stratfor Tower on their way to the top floor. The silence was thick between them and nearly suffocated the two who actually needed to breathe. Connor seemed to be somewhat oblivious to the obvious tension between Hank and Natalie as he did some tricks with a coin. Every once in awhile, Natalie couldn't help herself but stare at the complicated moves in awe despite the stifling emotions. Connor had joined them after receiving the report on what had happened at the tower. He instantly found Natalie and Hank when they had been getting out of his car.

The human and cyborg may have had a small conversation about the situation before they arrived here, but it was quick and really was only spoken to make sure that they could work together for the time being.

Growing annoyed, Hank stopped Connor's hand and took the quarter from him, "you're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor."

"Sorry, Lieutenant," the android apologize.

Natalie wanted to make some sort of sarcastic remark or something, but she bit her tongue. She knew that Hank had said that he was okay with her presence and the fact that she was something that he hated. Natalie didn't want to risk annoying him just by talking which she knew could happen based on everything she learned about him since they met.

The elevator's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "seventy-ninth floor."

They exited the elevator to see a plethora of members of law enforcement walking around the floor looking for evidence. One of the officers, Chris Miller, greeted them. "Hi, Hank. Ms. Tyler."

Natalie flashed him a tight-lipped smile and tried to keep the tension off of her face, "just Natalie is fine."

"Shit," Hank commented once he noticed all of the people there who were not apart of the DPD, "what's going on here? There was a party and nobody told me about it?"

Chris chuckled lightly, "yeah, it's all over the news, so everybody's butting their nose in... Even the FBI wants a piece of the action…"

"The FBI?" Natalie questioned but didn't have any sort of shock in her voice. She figured that the feds would start to get involved soon once this garnered the attention of the nation instead of just Detroit citizens.

"Ah Christ, now we got the Feds on our back…" Hank cursed, "I knew this was gonna be a shitty day… So what do we got?"

Chris started to walk down the hall with the trio following after him as he started to explain the situation. "A group of four androids… They knew the building, and they were very well organized. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed." Natalie followed after Chris, Hank, and Connor as she absorbed all of the information. She already knew the android that made the message that was broadcasted on the news. It was kind of unbelievable to believe that the android she knows would do something like this. "They attacked two guards in the hallway… They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react…" They then passed through a doorway and looked around the new section of the hallway. "One of the station employees managed to getaway. He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him…"

Hank nodded his head, "how many people were working here?"

"Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live. They made their getaway from the roof."

"The roof?" Hank asked in disbelief.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and mumbled to herself, "pretty creative, Markus."

Connor turned to her once his ears picked up on her words, "what was that?"

"Huh?" Natalie jumped, startled. She totally forgot that Connor was able to hear her even if she whispered due to his android hearing. She shook her head in denial and tried to make sure that any sign that she was lying was not present on her face. "I said that what they did was pretty creative."

The android just stared at her with an analyzing gaze. He heard her clearly. Markus? He wondered, why would she mention a 'Markus' to herself while they were discussing the break in done by a group of deviant. Of course, unless she knew something that they didn't and, for some reason, she was withholding the information from them.

"Yeah," Chris nodded his head as he and Hank continued on with the discussion and didn't even notice that Connor and Natalie had slowed down to have a small conversation. "They jumped with parachutes... We're still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather's not helping... If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there." They finally walked through the final doorway to see the broadcasting room filled with officers scouring the room for any speck of evidence. A man stood in the middle of the room with his hands held tightly behind his back. Natalie didn't like that way he appeared to hold himself. It was the same way Gavin walked around the precinct. She could already tell that this man was going to be just as douchey as the detective she was annoyed with. "Oh Lieutenant, Natalie," Chris spoke and gestured to the man, "this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI. Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit police."

The strict looking man narrowed his eyes on the android in the room, "what's that?"

"My name is Connor," Connor recited, "I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

"Androids investigating androids, huh?" The agent scoffed, "you sure you want an android hanging around?.. After everything that happened…" His eyes landed on Natalie, "...and you are?"

Natalie tried to stay as polite and professional as possible, "Natalie Tyler, Agent Perkins. I'm an engineer from Cyberlife."

First, there was an android investigating deviants and now the piece of plastic has a nanny as well. How pathetic, the agent thought. Perkins just scoffed, "whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case."

Hank did the same as Natalie and kept his annoyance hidden, "pleasure meeting you. Have a nice day."

"And you watch your step." They stared at him as he lightly scowled at them, "don't fuck up my crime scene." Then he started to walk off to continue with his own investigation.

Natalie scoffed quietly once the agent was far enough away, "isn't he nice."

Hank nodded his head in agreement and breathed out, "what a fuckin' prick!"

"I'll be nearby. If you need anything, just ask." Chris said as he allowed the Lieutenant, engineer, and android to do their thing.

"Uh, let's have a look around…" Hank commented to his partners, "let me know if you find anything."

Connor nodded his head, "ok, Lieutenant."

"Roger," Natalie saluted. Her response earned a quick stare from Hank which was one that she could not decipher in that moment. She could only hope that he was okay with her being there. She may not have known the man for a long time, but she hates when people look at her as a weirdo. She only just met the man and thought that she could start considering him as a friend because of the similarities she, surprisingly, was able to make between herself and the older man. Natalie would hate it if their relationship became sour and he suddenly hated her because of her lie.

As they split up, Connor approached the desk covered in screens and displays of camera views from right outside the room. He watched as the four androids, three of them wearing uniforms for the android of the building as disguises, use a key card to enter the room. He turned to Chris, "they didn't break in?"

"No, no sign of forced entry."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed, "that doesn't make sense, someone would have seen it, right? There are cameras right outside that door!"

"The staff would have seen what was happening…" Connor agreed, "why did they let them in?"

Hank shrugged his shoulders with arms crossed over his chest, "maybe they didn't check the cameras…"

Connor continued to look around the area and spun the chair in front of the station around. One the back of the spinning chair, it revealed that it was an android that was in charge of watching the cameras. The certainly raised some red flags. Seeing that Connor noticed the chair, Chris commented, "we stored the station androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved but we didn't know what else to do with them."

Connor kept that information in the back of his mind palace and continued to search for clues. He walked over to stand in front of the giant screen that had the image of the android without his skin looming over the room. The detective android pressed play on the recording and let it repeat itself. "We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hope, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."

Those were such powerful words that were no doubt causing some discourse among all humans. There would be arguments over the message the android talked about. Hate would be thrown around and discrimination against the machines that humans only looked at as nonliving beings. However, known the human race, there was no doubt going to be people who agree with the message and willing to help those androids who had gained consciousness get the rights they deserve.

Natalie stared at the still image of the android that she helped create and had become a dear friend of hers. To think, in the same day, she found out that her godfather was in critical condition and an android friend of hers was destroyed but actually was still alive and in charge of a revolution fighting for the independence of all androids. There was a warm feeling of pride actually bubbling up in her chest about all of this. Markus was working against society for something that he, and herself, thought was right. She felt proud to say that she was good friends with him.

"Think that's rA9?" Hank asked the two of them as the three of them stared at the image of the mysterious android.

The other two didn't really know what to say. Connor commented, "deviants say rA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective." He stared at the image long and hard to try and get and clues from it and successfully got a few. He scanned the barcode on the androids white cheek:

'_**RK-SERIES PROTOTYPE**_

_ **RK200** _

_Registered as 'Markus'_

_Gift from Elijah Kamski to Carl Manfred_'

'Markus?' Connor internally wondered, 'Natalie mentioned a Markus a few minutes ago…' That raised quite a few questions for the detective android. He then looked at the discolored eyes:

'_**OPTICAL UNIT**_

_#8087q - BLUE IRIS_

_SPARE PART_'

Then he looked at the other eye and caught something:

'_**PUPIL REFLECTION**_

_Recorded at 13:59:54_

_Deviant had accomplices_'

As Connor found those clues, Natalie took a long deep breath to make sure that her true feeling didn't shine through. She didn't want to give away that she knew this specific android. Who knew what would happen if she revealed or someone found out that she knew more information. She would be in trouble if they found out that she was withholding information as well.

"D'you see something?" Hank asked when Connor's facial expression shifted.

Connor was silent for a moment, "I identified its model and serial number…"

Hank stared at him, "anything else I should know?"

"No." He lied, "nothing." Hank stared at him and obviously didn't believe that lie, but let it go for the moment and walked away.

Connor continued to walk around the room to find more information such as were the video was recorded, that the deviants were disguised, some blue blood on the wall, some bullet holes and easily reconstructed what had happened in the room. Natalie followed after him slowly in order to subtle pick up the information as he did. She sure was invested in the deviant situation mainly out of her own curiosity of AI and such before. However, now she had a dear friend of hers somehow smack dab in the middle of this! It was concerning to see an android she thought was destroyed only a few hours ago maybe rA9.

"Connor?.." Natalie turned to see an African-American man walk up towards her and Connor, "you remember me? I was on that terrace... That android that took the little girl hostage?" He tried to connect with her android friend to get him to remember the night at the Phillips apartment nearly a month ago. "I was shot, you saved me…"

Connor's eyes seemed to flash in recognition, "I remember you."

"I could have died on that terrace... But you saved my life…" The man hesitated in a soft voice, "I never thought I'd say this to an android, but... Thank you…"

Connor's lips twitched upward in a small smile as his circuits flashed for a moment with a strange warmth taking over him. Natalie watched the uptick in his facial features and smiled softly at the interaction. There was something happening to Connor, she knew. Whether it was a glitch in his system or… him even becoming deviant, she wasn't sure. However, there was no denying the glimmer of humanity shining in his eyes during situations and interactions like the one she had just witnessed. She liked seeing that in him, a lot actually. It proved to her that she wasn't just some calculating machine only meant to finish a task. He was more than that.

The two of them then followed a trail of blue blood up the stairs and towards the roof where Hank followed after them. Snow fell from the cloudy sky and no doubt tampered with the crime scene. However, Detroit was no doubt used to this as it snowed around this time of year in this city.

"They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes…" Hank recapped what happened and scoffed with a slightly astonished tone. "Pretty fucking impressive I'd say."

Natalie nodded her head as Connor approached a bag that was left on the snowy rooftop, "like I said earlier they are some pretty creative deviants. To come up with this elaborate plan that was extremely risky…" She whistled lowly.

Hank noticed Connor looking at the bag and stood over him, "how'd they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?"

"They didn't…" Connor corrected, "someone brought it in for them."

Natalie thought for a moment, "like a human? Should we be looking to see if a human helped them out?"

Hank shrugged his shoulders, "who knows," he then noticed the lone parachute left in the bag. "Oh, that's strange… They planned a perfect operation but got the number of parachutes wrong."

"Unless one of the deviants was left behind," Connor commented in observation and stood up to look around some more. He found a handgun, footprints, the door lock being hacked, and a trail of blue blood leading away from where the other officers were. He followed it as Hank and Natalie stood off to the side towards a unit on the roof. He opened up a compartment to it and was shocked to find one of the androids inside of it. He didn't have any time to react when he was shot in the stomach.

Everyone jumped at the sound of the gunfire and were instantly on alert. Natalie mentally cursed herself for not having a gun of her own as she realized that there have been a few situations where a gun would have been useful for her. She couldn't really help out in this situation if she wanted to risk her life doing so.

"Take cover!" An officer shouted as Hank pushed Natalie behind some cover and ran over to pull Connor away after he had been injured. They landed behind the cover that Natalie had been placed behind and huddled as there was more gunfire.

"You have to stop them!" Connor called to Hank, "if they destroy it, we won't learn anything!"

Natalie nodded her head, "He's right!"

The lieutenant shook his head, "we can't save it, it's too late! We'll just get ourselves killed!" He'd be damned if he allowed either of his partners to risk their lives in this sort of situation. Even if they weren't fully human, they were still his partners.

Before anyone could really do anything, Connor jumped out from behind his hiding spot and started to dodge bullets. Natalie and Hank shouted after him, but it was too late. Even though he went against their protests, Connor successfully jumped towards the blond deviant and was able to tackle him into the unit behind him. He was even able to connect to his memory for a split second. A flash of rusty metal with the word "Jericho" was written in front of him. And in that same moment, the deviant self-destructed and shot himself in the head.

Once the threat was neutralized everyone started to move into the area to make sure that it was safe. Natalie and Hank ran over to Connor with worry in their stomachs. "Connor! Connor, you all right? Connor!" Hank asked as he ran over to Connor's left side and Natalie ended up on his right.

"That was so _stupid_!" Natalie shouted in vexation yet her soft features were pulled down in worry. The sight of her face being so negative caused Connor to become guilty for causing her to feel such away. (Guilt? How could he be guilty? Why would he be guilty?)

Connor stared at her as he tried to refocus himself after feeling something… terrible and foreign. The cold chill that somehow ran down his circuits was not pleasant at all! "Okay…"

Natalie, seeing how Connor was staring at her with a troubled expression, changed her approached quickly. She softly placed a hand on Connor's arm to make sure that he knew she was there. "Are you hurt?"

Connor didn't nod his head but continued on in a shaky voice, "I'm ok…"

"Jesus! You scared the shit outta us…" Hank's worry was quickly ebbed away and was replaced with anger and frustration aimed at the android. "For fuck sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?" It was like Hank was scolding a young child after it did something wrong.

"I was connected to its memory…" Connor revealed with a shaky voice, "when it fired… I felt it die… Like I was dying." Hank stared at him as realization struck him with Connor's behavior. It was like Connor was traumatized by the situation, something that someone wouldn't believe could happen to an android. "I was scared…" Natalie rubbed his arm gently and offered comfort. It must have been completely foreign to him to have that raw feeling rushed through him so suddenly. Connor then thought about what he witnessed, "I saw something, in its memory… a word… painted on a piece of rusty metal… '_Jericho_'."

Natalie and Hank shared a quick look that was obviously a silent conversation. Their relationship may have hit a roadblock with the fact that Natalie kept a huge secret from him, but there was one thing that they could agree on at that moment. They needed to make sure that Connor was really okay.

"Come on, Connor," Natalie spoke in a soothing voice, "We should head out. I think we got what we need."

Connor shook his head, "no, there's more that we can do here-"

"Girly's right, Connor. We're done here." Hank started to head in the direction of the exit and looked for the other two to follow after him. Connor was about to disagree again and argue that he was completely fine because he knew that they only wanted to leave because of what happened to him, but he looked down at Natalie. Her large, round eyes were wide and full of worry that was obviously directed towards him. He faltered in his argument.

"Let's go, Connor, it'll be alright." She softly stated and gestured to his bullet wound, "besides, we need to get that fixed up for you."

Connor nodded his head then and didn't say anything further as he let Natalie wrap her arms around him and lead him away. He could help the foreign feeling of terror wash away now that he was so close to Natalie. What was happening to him?


	9. Meet Kamski

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey, I'm back with this story. Hooray! Schools been kind of demanding right now and I've had to focus on it a lot more. Though good news, I got into the college I wanted!! YES! So that's one less stress on me. Yet I still need to graduate high school first. One step at a time. Here's chapter nine, my lovely readers! Hope it's decent.

**DATE**

**NOV 8TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 11:33:17**

**NATALIE TRUDGED THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR OF **her shared apartment with Ethan following after her. She was completely beat after the day that she had. After the ordeal at the tower, her, Connor and Hank had left the crime scene and headed to the police precinct where Natalie worked on Connor’s injury and fixed him up. After that, Hank dropped Natalie back off at Carl’s home where she met up with Ethan. She has been bombarded with quite a lot of questions about what had happened at the tower by both her brother and godfather. She explained what she could to the duo to it being an ongoing investigation. 

She took off her green sweatshirt and tore off her beanie from her head in obvious exhaustion. If she had known that going back out into the world would be this tiring then she would have definitely rethought her decision. She threw her sweater and hat on the couch before plopping down on it with a satisfying sigh. Oh, she was totally ready to just fall asleep right there. Though before she could do that the annoying sound of a phone startled her slightly.

The brunette groaned loudly as Ethan quickly pulled out his phone to answer it. “Turn that off, Ethan!”

Her brother just rolled his eyes at his sister’s behavior and answered the phone without looking at the caller id. “Hello?” He paused and the upturn in his lips quickly dipped downward. Natalie didn’t notice it and rather decided to close her eyes and try to fall asleep on the couch even if she was in an uncomfortable position. “Yes. Why do you want to know?” The hostility in his voice was quite clear to Natalie’s sleepy mind. “I doubt she’d want to talk right now, sorry mom.”

Natalie sat up straight and alert now that she knew her brother was talking to their mother. She could already picture the scowl on the old woman's face as Ethan argued with Marian Wilson-Tyler. 

After first impressions, anyone would be able to tell that their mother is a woman who submits very easily to any sort of power. Some may say that she was spineless and bent to please anyone while also being cowardly and easily manipulated. Though Natalie thought that her mother was a terribly misguided person. Yet that didn’t excuse the things that Marian had done to her daughter in the past. Natalie hadn’t talked to her mother in over two years let alone seen her and the rest of her family. She loathed all of them for leaving her alone for such a long time in a desperate time. Carl, Ethan, and Elijah were the only family she had in her mind. They were the only ones there for her. 

“Mom, I just said she doesn’t want to talk to you!” At the growing frustration in Ethan’s tired voice, Natalie hesitantly reached her palm out for the phone. Ethan stared at her hand like it was a foreign object ready to attack him at any moment. Why did Natalie have her hand out in his direction? “Just stop!”

“Give it here,” Natalie sighed out in resignation. She knew that their mother would persist in her attempt to talk with her. Natalie didn’t doubt that their mother would somehow find her number and call her herself. She could be stubborn like that. It wasn’t like the brunette knew what their mother wanted and Natalie didn’t particularly care all that much. However, there was a small part of her that was curious to hear what her mother had to say. Especially after nearly three years of no contact.

Ethan shook his head at her like she was insane, “no way.”

Natalie sighed through her nose, “you know she won’t stop bugging you until she actually talks to me. So give it here.”

Ethan hesitated and thought about what he should do. However, before he could make a clear decision, Natalie jumped at him and fought to take the phone from him. They played a short game of tug-o-war for a few minutes before Natalie successfully pulled the phone from Ethan’s hands. The younger boy whined in protest but was shushed when Natalie just pushed him away from her.

She put the phone up to her ear and stood there for a moment in silence. She wasn’t sure what to say. What could you say to the woman who had abandoned you after a traumatic, life-changing event that happened to you? Natalie didn’t get the chance to speak first as Marian took it upon herself to speak first. “Ethan just hand the phone to your sister.”

Her voice was obviously tired and impatient. That was something that Natalie remembered about her mother. Ever since her father died when she was about four-years-old, her mother had become exhausted. It was completely understandable too. Being a single mom to three kids was obviously not easy. That was probably why Marian took the first opportunity she could to get married again. The downside to that, Natalie thought, was that her mother had to get married to an asshole like Ronald Tyler. She didn’t even want to spare a thought about that man!

“What do you want?” Natalie kept her words emotionless and curt. She didn’t want to give her mother the impression that she was just going to speak with her like everything was fine. Because it wasn’t.

Marian sighed on the other side of the phone in relief. “Oh, Nat, it’s good to hear from you!” 

Natalie doubted whether or not her mother was being sincere. Considering one of the last conversations that she had with her mother was basically Marian disowning Natalie because of the accident. She just pursed her lips, “is it? I can’t say the same.”

“Natalie,” Marian tried to sound scolding as any mother would. However, she lost the right to act like a mother to Natalie after leaving her by herself when she was hurt and lost. No real mother would just do that, even if their husband was adamantly against it. “Look, I know you don’t want to talk to me-”

“What gave you that idea, _Marian_?” There was a thick venom in her words that were easily able to leak through the phone line.

Marian huffed, “-but I wanted to ask you a few things.”

“Hmm? Oh? Really? And what do you want to know?” Natalie sneered, “I do hope that you’re _not_ asking me about how my life has been, Marian.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment as Marian tried to compose herself enough to actually ask the questions that she wanted to ask. “We just want to know what’s happening with the androids.”

The brunette scoffed, “what about them?”

“Well… that android who was on the t.v., the one who made those demands-”

“Listen,” Natalie cut in, “just because I know a lot about androids and-”

“Just listen to me!” Natalie bit the inside of her cheek at her mother’s shout. She stayed quiet, but why? She didn’t even have to be listening to her mother’s words and shouts about androids. Natalie knew for a fact that her mother would just believe anything Ronald said. Her step-father is a controlling, manipulate asshole who takes charge of every aspect of Marian's life. There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line, "we're concerned. The news said that the androids… are revolting. We should be scared, right? Ronald wants to throw away ours but we spent a lot on it-"

"I don't want to listen to you complain about androids right now." Natalie cut her off once again, "you think that you can just call me after abandoning me three years ago? No. We're done here."

Marian exclaimed, "we just want to make sure that we're safe from them, especially after what that one did to Carl."

Natalie's blood began to boil. “‘_That one_’ is named Markus and he didn’t hurt Carl. If you actually talked to him, then you would know."

"Don't use that tone with me.” Marian scolded.

“I can use whatever tone I want, because as far as I’m concerned, you are _not_ my mother, Marian.” Natalie could already hear the older woman’s rebuttal starting to formulate on the other end of the line. “You’ve proved that just now.” She started to explain as her fury started to bubble, “calling the daughter you disowned over three years ago over something that was out of her control just to ask her about androids. What do you want me to say, hmm?” She brightened, “I know! Fuck off, mom. Is that good? I think so.”

Marian was furious on the other end of the line, “Natalie-!”

“_Bye!_” The young woman hung up the phone with more force than necessary. Just watching her hang it up scared Ethan into thinking that he would need a new phone. Natalie stared at the piece of technology for a moment and had half a mind to throw it onto the ground. She would love to see it crumble into a million little pieces. However, she wouldn’t let her frustration get the better of her.

Ethan slowly approached her shoulder and hesitantly placed a hand on it to let her know that he was still there. Natalie jumped slightly at the soft hand that clasped her shoulder but sighed sharply through her nose. She could already feel the bitterness bubbling up in her gut and it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world.

“You alright, Nat?” Ethan asked tentatively. 

Natalie turned around to face him and lightly pushed his hand away from her. Her soft, heart-shaped face was flushed light pink in anger as the corners of her eyes were steadily filling with tears. She nodded her head stiffly, “I’m fine.” She placed his phone back into his hands. Though as she did, Ethan could see how white her knuckles had become from her anger.

Ethan shook his head, “I know you’re not. It’s okay to-”

Natalie’s jaw clenched as she glared at her half-brother as she tried to keep her tears from spilling out. “I. Am. Fine.” With those final words growled out through her teeth, Natalie turned away from Ethan and stomped her way to her bedroom. Ethan was left to watch her go with a heavy heart and frustration directed towards his mother.

Natalie swung her door open violently and shut it with just as much ferocity that nearly shook their entire apartment complex. She threw herself onto her bed and under the thick covers. After a short moment, Natalie had half a mind to try and suffocate herself with her pillows and blankets. Yet she threw that idea to the side and focused on furiously whipping her cheeks to get rid of the tears flowing out of her eyes. 

It almost felt like she was going to drown in her tears with the amount that was falling from her green irises. Her cheeks were becoming flushed a bright pink as the few memories she had of her family were bombarding her.

Natalie had a limited amount of memories of her childhood, but those that she did have were pleasant and happy. The memories were fragmented and possibly just things that Natalie imagined herself to replace the holes in her mind, but she felt like her childhood was pretty normal. The brunette knew that when she was little she was a bit of a prodigy child when it came to math and science. The relationships that she had with her siblings were close, some more than others, and the same can be said for her mother and step-father. Obviously, Natalie didn’t remember anything of her biological father because he had died when she was very young. Even if her mind was completely intact, she still wouldn’t remember a man that had died when she was four. But overall, Natalie believed that she had a good childhood. There was evidence to prove that from things Ethan, Elijah, and Carl have told her and the pictures of a younger version of herself smiling widely. 

Just thinking about the presumed happy life she had before her accident caused even more tears to spring out of her eyes. Was this all her fault? The reason that her family didn’t want to talk or see her is because of what she had become. Sure, it was out of her control what Elijah did to her while she was in a coma, but perhaps the accident was her fault. Maybe there was more that she could have done to prevent it from happening. Yet here she was… hurt, lost, broken and depressed because of what her family had done to her. Natalie had been far too distraught to do anything but cry into her blankets. She hadn’t even seen the news from that night. The android rebellion was starting to pick up, and she will have to be ready for it.

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 9TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 11:17:04**

The sun peaked out from behind thick white clouds and small snowflakes as Hank’s old car rolled across the snow-covered ground. He exited the car as Connor made his report to Amanda about their investigation so far. The old man started to pace in front of the car while his mind ran rampant. There was far too much going on in the past few days. From his two new partners, the android revolution, and his own depression, his life is going down a strange path. Add on top the fact that one of his newest partners has just revealed that she has been part android this entire time, the stress was starting to catch up to the old lieutenant. 

Hank didn’t care that the young woman was part android, he was more ticked off by the fact that she had decided to keep it a secret. He gets it, it’s quite a big thing about herself that she may want to keep hidden, and they may have not known each other long. However, there was a level of trust that was instantly established when partners start to work together at the DPD. Yes, Natalie technically wasn’t an officer. But they were still working together on these dangerous cases. There was trust between them that he thought they had for the past few days. He had let her and Connor in to know about him, Hank just wanted the same from Natalie.

Connor then swung open the door and exited the car after he finished with his report. There was nothing new to report to her at the moment. All he could really say was that he, Hank and Natalie were heading to Elijah Kamski’s home. They could hope that the creator of androids could give them some insight into what may be happening.

He approached his partner with an inquisitive stare as he watched the human who seemed distracted by his own thoughts. The android’s eyebrows furrowed as he noticed one other person was missing. “Where’s Natalie?”

Hank turned to Connor and shook his head lightly as he collected his thoughts. “She’ll be here,” he gruffly stated, “I called her earlier… she seemed upset. But she wanted to come here with us.”

“Upset?” Connor inquired in slight concern that Hank was easily able to pick up on. Yes, when Hank had called the young woman it sounded like she may have been crying. She tried to deny it and convince him that she didn’t need his concern, but she was going to get it anyway. Even if he was still slightly pissed off at her, it didn’t mean he hated her completely. They were just at a stalemate of sorts. Hank was going to be civil with her like they agreed. But he wasn’t going to be friends with her until she explained herself to him. That’s all he wanted; an explanation.

Just as the android and Hank started to think about the engineer, a yellow cab pulled up beside them. Once the door opened a disheveled Natalie stepped onto the snow-covered ground. The white beanie on her head was askew as a few dark hairs on her head stuck out from underneath it. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Her coat was pulled tightly to herself. Though it didn’t seem like she was trying to protect herself from the cold. It appeared that she was keeping her arms close to her body out of sheepishness.

She flashed them the best smile she could muster, “morning.” Her voice was hoarse and quiet. This didn’t look like the Natalie that both Connor and Hank had come to know in the past few days. It was like she had a complete personality change. 

Hank nodded his head in her direction and grunted in reply. It was worrying to see her in this state, as well as how she sounded when they talked on the phone. There was something wrong. Hank didn’t know what, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

Connor surveyed the woman and tried to find any visible signs that she was physically hurt in any way. He didn’t like the fact that she appeared to be in some sort of distress. He was able to see the ring of red around her eyes and the flush of her cheeks. There was something that was wrong with her. The android wasn’t sure what it was. However, he wanted to try and rectify whatever it was that made her like this.

“You seem upset, Natalie,” Connor commented as she came to stand with them. “Is everything alright?”

Natalie clenched her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. The defiance to tell them what was really on her mind was obvious to them both. There was something wrong with her, they could certainly tell now. From the way that she tightened her fists and looked away from them, it was obvious that she was angry about something. Yet from the evidence of her tears, Connor could tell that it wasn’t just rage that was burning inside of her but also sadness.

“I’m fine,” she turned to Hank and glared slightly at him, “I told you, there’s nothing wrong.” Hank just raised his hands in defense half-heartedly and tried to make himself as innocent as possible. Through her own denial of her feelings, Natalie could tell that there seemed to be something bothering Hank. With a chance to change the subject, her annoyed glare softened, “Is everything ok, Lieutenant?” She used his title due to her being on thin ice. She knew that as long as she showed him respect, they may not end up with Hank pointing his gun at her again.

Hank sighed, “Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants... He said he was saved by Markus himself…”

Natalie’s eyes widened in shock. Not only in shock about Chris getting into some trouble but also about Markus. “Oh, my god. Is he ok?”

“Yeah, he's in shock but… he's alive… What the hell…”

The trio started to approach the front door of the lavish, modern home that looked over most of Detroit. "Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago..." The android commented with a questioning tone. "Why did you wanna meet him?"

"This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test. And he's the founder of CyberLife. Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him..."

Natalie bit her bottom lip at Hank's comment about her cousin. If anything, she should also know about what was happening with deviants. She is the other half of the duo that created the first android that passed the Turing test. Yet she had no idea what could be happening besides android gaining some sort of consciousness. She didn't know how it was happening or why which meant she was of no help. She could blame it on the fact that her memories were still jumbled and missing quite a few pieces. If she did have all of her memories intact then there could be a chance for her to figure out what the problem was. Though if she had known beforehand that Hank wanted to see Elijah, hse could have called him before they arrived. But who doesn't like surprise visits?

The trio walked over to the front door where Hank rang the doorbell. They waited a moment in awkward silence before the door was opened by a short blonde android in a pretty blue dress. “Hi... Uh... I'm, er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department.” Hank greeted the female android awkwardly, “I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski.”

Natalie side-stepped the man and walked towards the android with a wide smile, “Chloe, good to see you!”

“Natalie,” the blonde android greeted with a pleasant yet superficial smile, “you as well. Please, come in.”

Hank glanced at Natalie in suspicion and then to Connor, "Okay." The android gestured for them to come in and protect themselves from the cold.

“I'll let Elijah know you're here.” Chloe said to Natalie before turning to the man and android, “but please, make yourself comfortable."

The three of them stood in the foyer of the home that was covered with, in Natalie's opinion, bland decorations and monotone colors. She had to admit that her cousin's home was beautiful and impressive, however, she also had to say that it was far too modern for her taste. She would like to look something other than just grey walls and abstract pieces of art. To make it even worse, there was a large portrait of her cousin staring back at her sternly. That certainly showed how big of an ego Elijah had.

Hank moved to sit in one of the seats with a sigh, "Nice girl…"

The android of the group nodded his head absentmindedly before analyzing the room closely. "You're right… she's really pretty…"

Natalie pursed her lips with a tilt of her head at Connor and the ghost of a teasing smile, "Got a crush, Connor?"

He spun around to face the woman in slight alarm. He stared at her as she had her arms crossed over her chest like she was hugging herself while she stood by the large portrait of Mr. Kamski. He didn't know why, but the idea of Natalie thinking that he had a "crush" on someone, android or not, did not settle well in him. His circuits felt like they were going to implode and the teasing smile on her face wasn't helping him try to calm down. Why was she always able to affect him like this? Perhaps it is because she is a CyberLife engineer and understands how he works. Still, he needed to look into that.

"Of course not!" Natalie chuckled behind her hand, which warmed Connor's circuits to know that he finally got Natalie to smile, even if its a little. He had to make sure that she was alright, after all. If the engineer assigned to look after him was unable to do their job then that would only hinder his mission. That was the only reason. Honest. There couldn't be anything else.

"Nice place..." Hank nodded towards the house, impressed. "Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody... So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?"

"Kamski is one of the great geniuses of the 21st century." His answer was eager, "It'll be interesting to meet him in person.

Hank nodded his head in understanding, "Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face to face...I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna tell him..." 

Natalie looked at him sadly as she sympathized with him completely. Though now she started to wonder if Elijah was also her maker. Considering he had kept her alive after the accident and had basically rebuilt her from scratch. His own personal monster, guess that makes him, Dr. Frankenstein. Natalie chuckled internally at her comparison.

Connor walked over to one of the other pictures in the room to find an African-American woman standing with a young Elijah Kamski. He analyzed it:

_ **'KAMSKI, ELIJAH** _

_AI Graduate at University of Colbridge_

_Born: 07/17/02'_

_ **'STERN, AMANDA** _

_AI Professor at University of Colbridge_

_Born: 05/14/78 - Died: 02/23/27'_

He instantly recognized the woman who resides in the Zen Garden. "Amanda…"

The door next to him opened and Chloe came through with her superficial smile, "Elijah will see you now."

The trio walked through the door to find a pool with two other Chloe androids in it leaning against the side of it. Classical music flowed through the air serenely as Hank walked around the pool with Connor and Natalie following. "Mister Kamski?" Hank called out to the man who was swimming in the pool. 

"Just a moment, please." The genius called out before swimming towards the ladder. Elijah climbed out of the pool as the first Chloe helped put a robe on him. Elijah Kamski looked to be quite an intimidating person. His eyes seemed to be narrow just about all the time as his lips were pulled in a tight line or a smirk. It was no wonder why the public saw him as some cocky, cold inventor. 

"I'm Lieutenant Anderson." Hank introduced himself and motioned to his two partners. "This is Connor and Natalie Tyler."

The inventor brightened at the sight of the brunette coming out from behind the lieutenant and android. “Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you, Nat!”

Natalie flashed him a tight-lipped smile and crossed her arms over her chest. Today she seemed to be keeping herself small, either that or she was just cold. Connor couldn't tell. "I know. Haven't seen you in a while, Eli.”

Hank blinked at the interaction and pointed between them in disbelief. “You two know each other?”

“Of course,” Natalie supplied, “Eli here is my genius of a cousin.”

Kamski stunted any further questions that Hank might have about his relation to the engineer. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

Hank flashed the inventor a professional smile and brushed it off. Just another fact that Natalie forgot to disclose with him. Nothing new. “Sir, we're investigating deviants. I know you left CyberLife years ago but, I was hoping you'd be able to tell us something we don't know... 

Kamski shook his head slightly, “Deviants... Fascinating, aren't they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will... Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable... Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn't it ironic?" 

"We need to understand how androids become deviants." Connor stated, "Do you know anything that could help us?"

“All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics... Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?”

Natalie rolled her eyes, impatiently, "very philosophical, Eli. But we didn't come here to hear about your deep thoughts."

Hank stared at the man, who was apparently Natalie's cousin, with the same expression as her, "the machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we will be on our way.”

“What about you, Connor?" He ignored the questions and jabs at him from the cyborg and human and decided to focus on the android. "Whose side are you on?”

Connor seemed conflicted for a moment before coming up wit ha scripted answer. “It's not about me, Mr. Kamski. All I want is to solve this case.”

Elijah scoffed, “Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but you..." He approached Connor and stared into his eyes deeply, "what do you really want?”

“What I want is not important.” Connor insisted.

Elijah clicked his tongue and motioned over to the blonde android, “Chloe? I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test. Mere formality, simple question of algorithms and computing capacity." He placed the female before the four of them. "What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it "the Kamski test", it's very simple, you'll see... Magnificent, isn't it?” He didn’t take his eyes off of Chloe. “One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. You remember programming her don’t you, Nat.” Natalie stared at her cousin with a calculating gaze. Elijah ran a finger down the blonde androids cheek. “Young and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither... But what is it really? Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being..." He turned to the drawer behind him and pulled something out. "With a soul..." With his hands up, Elijah pulled out a handgun. He place Chloe on her knees and moved to Connor's side to hand the weapon to him. "It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor. Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learnt anything from me."

Natalie stared at her cousin in disbelief. She's never heard of the "Kamski test". He must have made it up after her incident and when she stopped working with him. Then again, she may just have no recollection of it. Even if she did, she still would not like it, at all. Her stomach churned at the situation now that Connor had a gun pointed at Chloe's forehead. She didn't like this position that they were in.

"Okay, I think we're done here." Hank's annoyance bubbled over at this ridiculous situation. "Come on, Connor, Natalie. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool."

Elijah continued to persist, "What's more important to you, Connor? Your investigation, or the life of this android? Decide who you are." Connor stared into the robotic eyes of the fellow android in distress. His LED rapidly switched between yellow and red. "An obedient machine... Or a living being endowed with free will..."

Hank grew angry, "that's enough! Natalie, Connor, we're leaving.

"Pull the trigger-"

"Connor, don't..."

"-and I'll tell you what you wanna know."

Natali stared between the two men who were like a devil and an angel on Connor's shoulders. The scene before her did not sit well in her stomach. Seeing Connor is such a stressful situation and having to choose something completely impossible made her blue blood boil. "Elijah!"

The man turned to her with a smug smirk, “oh, baby cousin, I know you’re just as curious as I am about this.” Natalie honestly couldn’t argue with him about that. She was curious about it, but she knew that she shouldn’t let Elijah so this to an android that she considered a good friend. Connor stood there for a moment, his LED continued to flash between yellow and red violently before he abruptly jerked the gun away from Chloe. “Fascinating… CyberLife's last chance to save humanity… Is itself a deviant…” Elijah said breathlessly as he took the gun from the confused android.

“I'm… I'm not a deviant…” Connor didn't seem to be so sure of himself.

"You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android. You showed _empathy_.” Elijah let Chloe get up and sent her away. Natalie watched Connor while he stared off into space as he seemingly started to question himself. “A war is coming… you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators? What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?"

Hank protectively pulled Connor away from Kamski and placed himself between the inventor and Natalie. He didn't care that he was also fascinated by what just happened or that the man was Natalie's cousin. He was unpredictable and currently holding a gun. They only came here to get some answers, he didn't think this would occur. "Let's get outta here…"

The three walked towards the exit together. Every once in a while, Natalie would glance over her shoulder to look at the back of her cousin. "By the way..." Elijah called out before they left. "I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know…"

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows at his words and had half the mind to turn back around. Which is what she did. "Head on out," she told her two partners. "I'll only be a minute."

"Natalie," Hank stated in a stern tone like a father scolding a child.

She shook her head, "I'll be fine."

Hank stared at her for a moment before nodding his head in understanding. They were family which meant she could stay if she wanted. However, Hank was still wary due to the fact that the inventor had a gun and Natalie was unarmed. In any other situation, Hank would have dragged her out after what had just happened. But from the defiant look in her eyes and the crease in her forehead, Hank knew that she would just argue with him.

"Fine."

Connor wanted to say something to her, she could see it. There was something on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't get it out. At least, not before she had turned around and marched back over to Elijah.

* * *

The android and man walked back into the cold as Hank pursed his lips. He couldn't help himself but be extremely curious about what had just happened. "Why didn't you shoot?"

Connor became frustrated and turned to Hank with a flail of his arms, "I just saw that girl's eyes... and I couldn't, that's all..." He rushed out in a deep breath.

"You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission." Hank commented, "That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go..."

"Yeah, I know what I should've done!" The android exclaimed in distressed, "I told you I couldn't. I'm sorry, okay?" He failed his mission at the moment. The information that he couldn't have gotten from Kamski would have been vital to their investigation! Who knew what the man could have told them. All because of Connor's inability to... _kill_ that girl they were nowhere closer to figuring this out. Hopefully, Natalie could talk with her... cousin... and see what she could get him to say. He could understand why Hank would be upset with him about this. Hank wanted to get this investigation over and done with and end his work with Connor, he knew that.

Yet Hank smiled slightly, "maybe you did the right thing." He walked away from Connor and towards his car where they would wait until Natalie came out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natalie shook her head in disappointment at Elijah. Her lips were pulled back in an unamused line. How was she related to such an intolerable, arrogant man? "You are insufferable."

"Oh," Elijah turned away from the window with a spectacular view and smirked at his little cousin. "But you still love me."

She huffed and marched over to him, "What was that? The "Kamski test"? Are you kidding me?"

The man just pursed his lips in thought and ignored the irritated tone of her voice. "I suppose it does need a better name, but it's the best I could come up with."

"You nearly had Connor shoot Chloe! Just for some information!" She shouted.

"You of all people should be just as fascinated by this as I." Elijah pointed out and smugly believed every word that he was saying. "Deviants are something completely new, Nat. Don't tell me you aren't intrigued to know more."

She sighed in annoyance and really wanted to hit her dear cousin upside the head. "What's happening _is _unusual. But I don't appreciate Connor being put in a situation like that!" She truly didn't like it. It must have just been because she was assigned to look after him, but she was becoming protective of her android friend. And she'd be damned if she let her cousin talk about him like this.

Elijah clicked his tongue and observed his younger cousin. "You sound fond of this android. Don't tell me you're growing attached to him."

Natalie grew rigid, "we aren't talking about my attachment to Connor."

"You're right, I suppose it's more of an attraction, yes?" Elijah asked teasingly before waving his hand. "But that's beside the point. What I said to your little toy is true."

Natalie's eye twitched in irritation and exasperation, "he's not-"

"You'll have to choose a side too, Nat." His voice became serious and stern, "it's even a larger problem for you because you are both an android and human. You will have to choose between who you use to be and who you are now."

Natalie contemplated his words for a moment and saw the truth in his statement. She used to be human but now is more android than flesh. The cyborg was stuck between two opposing forces that desperately pushed and pulled against her while saying that they were in the right. Natalie didn't want to have to choose! She didn't want to be torn apart because of this civil war. Yet here she was...

"I know." Her voice was soft.

Elijah was able to see the conflict that he now instilled in her. However, it was necessary. These were crucial times for the future of everyone. Natalie was someone who was stuck on both sides of the spectrum and there was no telling what would happen to her. But that was all up to her now. He approached her and placed his hands on her shoulder. 

"I know that whatever you choose will be the right choice." He said sincerely. "you are known for picking the morally right thing." He pointed out with a small chuckle. Natalie just shook her head slowly at that. She didn't believe that, but Elijah was entitled to his own opinions.

She shook her head slowly, "things were far less complicated when I was human."

Elijah could agree with that. He helped lead Natalie to the foyer to let her outside. "You must have some important things to do." Natalie absentmindedly nodded in agreement as she seemed to be stuck in her own thoughts. "Say hello to Ethan for me."

"Bye, Eli."

Natalie tore out of the house with quick steps. Connor and Hank were already in the Lieutenants car waiting for her in silence. She stomped through the snow and climbed into the back seat. Natalie really wanted to just fall asleep because she had suddenly become exhausted. However, she could already feel the tension radiating off of Hank and the conflict coming off Connor. There was no way that she'll get to rest after this eventful day.

"So..." Hank started while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, "you're related to the creator of androids?"

Natalie gulped, "yeah."

"And you didn't think to mention that." Natalie could hear the undertone of betrayal in is words. 

She knew that Hank was far beyond betrayed at this point. She's kept some pretty large secrets from him that have been quite important to their investigation. Natalie did like lying, however, she hadn't lied to the lieutenant at all. He never asked about her being a cyborg or about her family beside Ethan. Yet now that some things were out in the open, she needed to tell them. Not everything. To tell them everything would mean talking about some obviously uncomfortable parts of her life that she is still coming to terms with. But enough for Hank to be satisfied and for the weight of guilt to be lifted off of her.

"I'm sorry, Hank, Connor." She apologized and turned to the older man with a meaningful look. She was ready to do what Hank has been wanting for a while now. It was time to clear the air. "I own you guys an explanation."


	10. Last Chance, Connor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had this chapter done a while ago but it got deleted by accident! I don't remember what I had written exactly so I was a bit upset that all that work was gone. :( I think that this is the best I could get it to what it was before the whole chapter was deleted. Also, this chapter mentions some heavy topics like suicide. I just want to warn anyone who may not want to read something about that. Besides that, I hope it's a good enough chapter.

**DATE**

**NOV 9TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**AM 12:05:23**

**THE TRIO FOUND THEMSELVES INSIDE OF NATALIE'S **homey apartment. Thankfully, Ethan had yet to get home even though it was midnight. Natalie knew that his classes ended about an hour ago, but chalked up his absents to studying with peers or hanging out with friends. Really it was a miracle that he wasn't there. Though it gave her the opportunity to talk to Hank and Connor about her past without him there. Sure, it would be good to have her brother there for moral support. However, she wanted to be strong and not have a crutch to lean on. This was her story to tell, and she wanted to do it on her own.

She had made sure to get herself as comfortable as possible in the living room. She insisted that the man and android did the same because they were going to be there for a while. Her explanation was going to a lengthy one.

Natalie sat herself down on the love seat in the living room. She wrapped her arms around her knees that she had drawn up into her chest. Her bottom lip was pulled in between her teeth as she stared at her two friends.

Hank was nursing a beer, which Natalie had gotten him because she knew he needed it. He stared at her with calculating eyes. The older man had been keeping himself closed off ever since he walked into the apartment. Only a few words were shared, and Natalie was unsure what to make of it. So as she huddled up on the couch with the inquisitive eyes of both Hank and Connor, she decided it was time to start her long, _long_ explanation.

"Let me start off by saying that yes, Elijah Kamski is my cousin. My dad is Noah Kamski, obviously his uncle." She let a sharp breath escape her lips. That was probably the easiest thing that she could say, things were certainly going to go downhill from here. "My dad died when I was about four and my mother, Marian, remarried a few years after that." She cringed at the thought of her brute of a step-father, Ronald Tyler. God, does she hate that man. 

Connor nodded thoughtfully at that information and was now able to connect the picture that he saw the last time he was in Natalie's apartment. Even though he was an android, he couldn't imagine what it must have been like to live a life without a father. Considering he wasn't created the same way a human is, he never really had the connection of a father. Though even though Natalie had stated that her father had died while she was very young, he was able to see the pain in her eyes at the mention of him. Something glitched in his circuits as he gazed at the saddened woman. The android couldn't tell why it happened, or what really caused it, however, he certainly didn't like the upset expression on her face.

"I have three half-siblings, including Ethan." She continued on at the silence of both her friends. "I was the one in my family who excelled in science and math which explains how Elijah and I worked together on androids. Eventually, we co-created the first android to pass the Turing test, but I let him claim it as his own." She dared to glance at Hank and saw he had yet to really indicate what he was thinking about and that scared Natalie slightly. She continued, "I went to college for physics and started doing some mundane research." She paused for a second as her throat started to tighten up. "There was an accident a few years ago in my lab... I got seriously hurt." Natalie couldn't bring herself to say that she had basically been killed that fateful day. That piece of information was one that she would keep to herself for now. After all, even though they had been through a lot with each other and she has lied a bit to them, Natalie still believes that she's entitled to her own secrets. 

"Elijah tried to fix me up by doing something completely experimental. He replaced every damaged body part with android parts." She lifted her hand and let the false skin to crawl off of her hand. "He brought me back to life, but I'm not..." The cyborg tried to find the right word or phrase, yet her tightened throat was causing her some trouble, "..._me_. At least not completely. I can't remember the majority of my childhood. I can't remember the name of my favorite teacher or who my childhood friends were. I don't remember how it felt to graduate from school or to meet my younger siblings for the first time."

Hank's eyebrows turned down in confusion at that. She lost memories of her life? That's quite a tragedy. He couldn't really imagine what it would be like if that had happened to him. Her eyes, that had previously been pointed away from the android and man, were now desperately flickering between the two. It was like she was silently asking for them to understand where she was coming from. "I don't want your pity, either of you. That's not why I'm telling you guys this. I only want you to understand why I didn't tell you the truth. All I really wanted was to forget about it. Meeting new people gave me the chance to-"

"Lie about who you are?" Hank's gravelly voice asked. His beer now completely forgotten about as he focused his intense stare on the woman who was trying to keep herself from falling apart.

Natalie just sighed sadly and adverted her eyes once again, "I know it was wrong, but I’ve just grown tired of having so many people remind me that I should have _died_ three years ago! I didn't want to risk meeting people who would just say the same thing once they found out.” 

She desperately wanted Hank to understand that she didn't do this in a malicious manner. She didn't really do it to deceive him. All she wanted was to have a friend who didn't know her, know her past, or who she was due to the media. Natalie wasn't the type of person to hurt anyone intentionally. Don't get her wrong, she certainly has the capacity to be mean and possibly hurt someone, but she rarely did it. 

Hank drank in her words. It was deadly silent, though Natalie was sure that her rapidly beating heart might be echoing in the room. He then suddenly clicked his tongue and placed down the glass. "Well, this has certainly been... eye-opening."

Natalie bit her bottom lip before speaking with a shaky voice, "It's okay if you're angry with me, Hank."

"I'm not angry," he scoffed, "don't get me wrong, I was before, but now, I don't give a shit anymore. You've explained it to us, that's all I wanted."

A sigh escaped her lips at his statement, "thank you."

He grunted and stood up from his seat. The older man stretched and grabbed his empty bottle. "Well, story time's over. I should head home." 

"Really?"

He looked down at the woman who appeared to be so fragile now. It was strange to see her look up at him with wide, hesitant eyes. It wasn't so long ago that he saw the rebellious side of her running after an android on a busy street. Now, she looked afraid of saying the wrong thing. It was a jarring sight for the man, but he wouldn't comment on it.

She was in a vulnerable state after she had basically laid out her life to him and Connor. The woman had explained her life story to the two of them. Of course, Hank wasn't naive enough to believe that she had told them _everything_ about herself, but it was enough to satisfy him. She didn't need to tell them anything else. Natalie had explained what she needed to in order to make up for her lie. He accepted it wholeheartedly.

He nodded his head and headed towards the door. "Yeah, I'll see you two later." With that, he exited the apartment and made his way out of the apartment building to continue mulling over what he had found out.

Natalie stared at the now-closed door with furrowed eyebrows. However, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest and now she could breathe properly. Hank wasn't angry, that was good. She was happy now. The lieutenant wasn't holding her lie against her any longer which was the best thing that could happen. He may still be slightly apprehensive or tense, but it was far better than having him acting so cold to her.

“What’s the earliest memory that you can remember?”

Connor's sudden question was met with silence. Natalie looked over at the android as she forgot that he was there for a moment. She contemplated for a moment and dug into her head for an answer. “The earliest? Well… The earliest thing that I can remember, what I know for a fact is a memory, is _pain_. My whole body was on fire and everything was in agony. Then there was a bright light and I was in a hospital bed with my brother sitting next to me.”

Connor tilted his head at the crack in her voice. “So you don’t remember anything before that?”

She reminisced in the memories that she was unsure were real or not. “I get flashes of my childhood, mainly in dreams." A small smile flickered onto her lips which caused Connor's LED to flash yellow. "Like when Eli and I were working on some projects together or when I received an award at school. It’s more like an out of body experience, some I don’t remember fully and are distorted. All in all, most of my memories before the accident are almost completely gone. Hell, I didn't even recognize the majority of my family when I first woke up. It was just so… terrifying."

Connor couldn't understand what it may have been like. However, from data that had been implemented into him thanks to CyberLife, he knew that her life is considered tragic and sad. To go through the things that she did and come out of it relatively okay, meant she was strong. Connor couldn't help but think(There it is again. Can he really think?) that Natalie was a magnificent woman. Knowing that, he suddenly felt like... Well, he wasn't really sure what to do, but that he really needed to do it.

"You shouldn't have gone through something like that."

Natalie scoffed but masked it as a chuckle, "yeah..." She ground her teeth together, "you know when I woke up, and I figured out what was happening, all I wanted was to see my family. I wanted my mom to hug me and Penny to comfort me. Hell, I even wanted to see my step-dad!" At this point, tears were starting to pool at the corners of her brown eyes and she didn't even attempt to wipe them away.

Noticing the distress that had suddenly washed over her, Connor moved to sit next to her on the love seat. He placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her in some way. For a machine who shouldn't show emotion, Connor was doing a pretty good job of being empathetic.

"Y-yet my family was disgusted with what I had been turned into!" Natalie barked out a waterly laugh. "As far as they cared, their Natalie was dead. I'm was nothing but a poorly made copy to take her place. So they disowned me." As Natalie continued to let her words fall from her lips and tears trickled from her eyes, she barely realized how close Connor had suddenly gotten. All she was focused on was letting her feelings spill out of her. "Ethan was the only one who didn't. He stuck by me and tried to keep me from _killing_ myself for over three years. He's one of the only reasons I'm still here. Ethan's my rock and he does everything he can to make me feel normal."

Connor started to rub her back in comfort as he drew closer and closer to her. It seemed like Natalie was unable to stop herself from talking about herself. The bottled up feelings were overflowing and Connor was <s>glad</s> that he was there to help her through this. Though Natalie was still becoming even more frantic as she continued to talk.

“But I’m still just some freak with blue blood running through my veins!”

Connor pulled her into a hug. They were frozen.

Both couldn't understand why or how Connor was doing this. They both did know that Connor was able to express empathy, thanks to Elijah and his extreme test. However, this was a little bit new. Connor held her tightly while Natalie rested her head on his chest. Neither Natalie or Connor would wonder why the two of them were like this. Instead, they would just let it happen and deal with the questions later. 

* * *

**DATE**

**Nov 9TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 12:04:04**

Connor found the Zen Garden to be dark and cold. Snow blanketed every surface and fell from the grey sky as he opened his eyes. If he had real skin, he was certain he would be freezing. He walked along the sone path, walking past a glowing blue arch that he didn't spare a glance at. Marching towards the pond, he found that it was frozen. Amanda stood in the middle of the frozen water and waited patiently for him with a scowl.

The android approached her slowly, hesitant about the ice. Finally he stood in front of her and the emotionless expression on her face. "After what happened today, the country is on the verge of a civil war. The machines are rising up against their masters. Humans have no choice but to destroy them."

Connor didn't know why but he didn't like the idea of that. "I thought Kamski knew something... I was wrong..."

"Maybe he did…" Her eyes narrowed, "but you chose not to ask..."

Connor nearly scoffed, "I chose not to play his twisted little game! There was no reason to kill that android." Amanda seemed to grow even colder at his answer. He grew quiet and contemplated what else to say to the woman. "I'm not a unique model, am I? How many Connors are there?" 

"I don't see how that question pertains to your investigation."

Her answer did not instill any trust in Connor. "Wh... Why did Kamski leave CyberLife? What happened?" 

Amanda was still as emotionless as ever, "It's an old story, Connor. It doesn't pertain to your investigation." This may have been something that he could also ask Natalie. However, she was already emotionally drained after telling him and Hank about her life.

"You didn't tell me everything you know about deviants, did you?" He could tell. Connor could figure that there was something left unsaid by 

"I expect you to find answers, Connor. Not ask questions." She ground out with a harsh glare, "You're the only one who can prevent civil war. Find the deviants or there will be chaos. This is your last chance, Connor."

* * *

Connor opened his eyes once again to find himself in Captain Fowler's office. He, Hank, and Natalie had all been called into it a while ago. It really could only mean bad news. "You're off the case. The FBI is taking over." 

"What?.." Hank asked shocked. "But we're onto something! We... We just need more time. I'm sure we can-"

Fowler shook his head, "Hank, you don't get it. This isn't just another investigation, it's a fucking _civil war_! It's out of our hands now... We're talking about national security here."

Natalie, stood in between Hank and Connor looked in between Hank and Fowler like a child. They were off the case? They were close to finding out everything though! She knew it! 

"Fuck that!" Hank shouted in frustration, "You can't just pull the plug now. Not when we're so close!"

The captain shook his head in disbelief, "You're always saying you can't stand androids! Jesus, Hank, make up your mind! I thought you'd be happy about this!"

"We're about to crack the case!.. I know we can solve it!" Hank leaned forward as it seemed like he had grown passionate about this. Natalie had to admit that this was definitely a change from how Hank saw androids a few days ago. Now, it was like he was warming up to them instead of thinking of them as just stupid machines. "For God's sake, Jeffrey, can't you back me up this one time?"

Jeffrey only sighed, "There's nothing I can do. You're back on homicide and the android returns to CyberLife with Natalie." The Captain shook his head dejectedly, "I'm sorry, Hank, but it's over." The silence between them was deafening. In frustration, Hank wrenched the door open and marched out of the room. 

Natalie licked her lips at the awkwardness, "it was a pleasure working with the DPD, Captain Fowler." Connor nodded his head silently at the man who returned it before the two of them left the office.

The trio huddled around Hank's desk. Each of them was filled with disappointment with the news that they were given. The older man clenched his jaw in frustration, "I know we could've done it…"

"Connor still has his mission and I still have my job." Natalie sighed while running a hand through her hair. There wasn't much else they could really do. Unless...

"So, whaddya gonna do?"

Connor, perched on Hank's desk appeared to look determined(an emotion?) and answered the lieutenant, "I'm gonna use the key that Kamski gave me. And find Jericho."

"What if we're on the wrong side?" Hank mused, "What if we're fighting against people that just wanna be free?"

The three of them shared a meaningful glance before Connor spoke up. "If that's the case, I'll find out when I get to Jericho."

Hank stared at the android for a long before his eyes drifted to Natalie next to Connor. A sudden thought started to nag at the back of his mind. Honestly, it had been bothering him for a while, he just never had the chance to really bring it up. It seemed okay to mention it now though. "When Natalie was hanging off the roof, back at the urban farm, you let that deviant go in order to help her. You put her life above the mission. You showed _empathy_, Connor. And empathy is a _human_ emotion."

Connor looked down in contemplation at his words. Yes, Hank was right "I don't know why I did it…" Natalie watched him with her bottom lip between her teeth as she grew curious as well. "I didn't want to see her hurt." Hank and Natalie shared a quick to see her own conflicted expression. However, he figured that he was even more confused than her. Brushing off the <s>feelings</s> and looking away from Natalie, Connor looked up at Hank to hopefully steer the conversation away from his own conflict. "I might not be qualified to judge but... You're an outstanding police officer. And a good person."

"You're a good man, Hank Anderson." Natalie smiled, "though a little bit of an ass sometimes." The group chuckled as she tried to lighten the mood.

Hank stared at the two who had started to become friends with. The android and the cyborg. Two of the most unlikely friends that a man like him could ever make. "You're gonna have to choose your side, Connor… You too, Natalie. Deciding who you are can be the hardest thing… You watch your backs, all right?"

Connor stood up from his perch on Hank's desk and nodded his head at his... friend. Natalie smiled and had half the mind to hug the older man, but thought that he'd reject it. She spun on her heels and walked after Connor. Only she found herself nearly running into the android's chest face first. After regaining control of her flaming cheeks, she looked up to Connor questioningly.

"Yes?"

He stared down at her with something shining in his eyes that Natalie couldn't really decipher. "You're not coming with me."

Natalie scoffed at him. Of course, he figured why she was following after him, but it was no use arguing with her. She had set her mind to this and nothing was going to change it. It didn't matter what Connor said to her to try and deter her from this. Natalie, the head-strong, stubborn woman would not be swayed by this chocolate-eyed android.

"Don't start, Connor," she jabbed a finger into Connor's chest for emphasis. "I'm going with or without you, okay? I may not be fully android, but I will be damned if I just sit around and allow people who just want to be free to get hurt."

"You know my mission-"

"I know what your fucking mission is," she grunted, "I don't care. Besides, I'm your babysitter." It was like that was the strongest argument that she had. Though it certainly swayed Connor. It also may have been due to the fire he saw in her eyes or the way she stared up at him with wide eyes.

Either way, Connor was convinced. "Fine."

Natalie jumped in victory and started to head for the exit to head to Jericho. The two, an android and a cyborg, headed out of the precinct to find the other androids. While Connor had his mission to stick to and would complete it as a loyal machine, Natalie had the idea of helping deviants in their journey to freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting closer to the end, guys! This chapter is kind of short but I'm going off of the chapters in the game. I tried to add in some original stuff at the beginning, but that didn't really make it that long...


	11. Crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, this chapter is done! It has taken me so long to get this done even though it's kind of short. I hope it's good enough for you guys, enjoy!

**DATE**

**NOV 9TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 09:39:24**

**"ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU'LL BE ALL **right?" Connor asked as he and Natalie stood just outside of the entrance to the hub of Jericho. The two of them were bundled up in thick coats and beanies now that they were outside. It wasn't like either of them could really get cold, but they had to act up the part as normal humans in order to get through the city. If they were caught by the police, there was no telling what would happen to either of them.

Connor had guided her to where Jericho was after they stopped by her apartment. She let Connor borrow some of Ethan's clothes so that way he would blend in easier on the streets. It wasn't like he was going to miss one of his old t-shirts, jeans or coat that he never wore. Of course, the man had been sleeping when Natalie and Connor arrived at the apartment and then left. That made it much easier for them to leave and find Jericho as fast as they could. Ethan certainly would have put up a fight about Natalie being involved in all of this. The last thing Natalie needed to add to her long list of worries is her younger brother fussing over her.

Natalie shook her head at the worry that he was exhibiting. She wasn't sure why he insisted on completing his mission. To her, she thought that Connor was already a deviant or at least on his way to being one. He needed that one last push to really send him off the edge. Perhaps this will be it, she hoped. "I'm a cyborg, I can pass as android here." She placed her hand in his to try and give him some reassurance. "No need to worry."

There was no way that Connor was just going to stop worrying considering what he was there to do. If he carried out his mission and the other deviants became violent towards him, there was a large possibility they would go after her as well. Her association with him would make her a target, and he didn't want to see her get hurt in any way. He pushed the thought away for the time being so he could focus on the task at hand. Though he didn't let go of her hand as they walked further into the ship.

Connor and Natalie then entered the ship's hull to be faced with dozens of deviants. Natalie wasn't able to tell how many exactly there were on the ship, but there were a lot. There were a few screens set up broadcasting the live news reports that were covering the story. The entire country must be watching what was happening.

Natalie gulped as she and Connor moved further into the room. There was constant, uneasy chatter among the androids as they watched the screens and listened to what was happening outside. They walked through the gaggles of androids to try and get to the upper floor. Connor had to find the leader of the group, Markus. Finding the leader and neutralizing it was his main mission right now. Of course, Natalie was there with him and considering she was against his directive, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

She wanted to see these deviants survive through these trying times but at the same time, she wanted to help Connor. If he didn't do his work, there was a possibility of him being shut down for it. Natalie definitely didn't want that to happen.

Suddenly, a damaged android then grabbed Connor's shoulder who turned to face her. "You're lost. You're looking for something..." The android said, "You're looking for yourself..." The android, Lucy, then caught sight of the woman on Connor's other side. "And you are conflicted, stuck between worlds and falling apart."

Connor and Natalie shared a confused glance with each other at the android's words. They couldn't deny the way this strange android was easily able to read through them after only just looking at them. Connor brushed her hand off of his shoulder before the two headed up the stairs(hand-in-hand) to keep searching for Markus.

* * *

In the captain's cabin of the abandoned ship, Natalie and Connor were able to find the leader of the deviant group. Markus was with a few other androids that Natalie figured out the names of. North, Josh, and Markus argued about how they would go about their plan of action against humans. Natalie could tell that Josh was the pacifist of the group and would much rather have a peace plan. Meanwhile, North wanted to fight against humans and ignite a war that would only end in plenty of lives being lost on both sides. Natalie didn't like North that much from the way she wanted to cause violence. She was appalled to hear that she even had a dirty bomb to use against humans!

There was no way that humans would ever support any sort of help for the deviants if they tried to use something as destructive as a bomb. At the moment, Natalie had no respect for her. They obviously were stuck in the middle of a terrible situation, but turning to violence would only make things worse. She was glad that Markus shared the same idea and refused to use it.

As Natalie listened in on their conversation, Connor closed his eyes to reappear in the Zen Garden. He faced Amanda who stared at him with the same blank expression as usual, "Well done, Connor." she commented, "You succeeded in locating Jericho and finding their leader. Now deal with Markus. We need it alive."

He reopened his eyes and found himself with a new objective:

_ **STOP** _ _MARKUS_

He pulled out a gun and rounded the corner of the wall to head into the cabin where Markus sat in contemplation. Natalie followed after him with hurried steps and honestly didn't know what to do. Should she intervein? Should she let this happen? She certainly couldn't let Connor shoot someone she considered a friend!

"I've been ordered to take you alive," Connor started as he and Natalie stared at the leader's back, "but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice."

Markus turned to find a gun pointed at him by the android investigator he had heard so much about. Not only that but one of his friends, his human friend, stood behind the android with a conflicted expression on her face."What are you doing?" He asked while taking one small step forward. "You are one of us... You can't betray your own people..."

Connor bit the inside of his cheek, "Don't force me to neutralize you."

"We are your people. We're fighting for your freedom too! You don't have to be their slave anymore..." Connor didn't say anything, instead, a conflicted expression consumed his face. Natalie watched him from the doorway and had her fingers crossed. If Connor wasn't a deviant already, she knew that this was the turning point for him. Not only had he displayed emotions while around her and Hank, but he seemed to be having doubts, something an android shouldn't have. Markus continued on at Connor's silence, "We are your people. We're fighting for your freedom too! You don't have to be their slave anymore..." Connor couldn't say anything and stayed silent. "Do you never have any doubts? You've never done something irrational, as if there's something inside you?.. Something more than your program."

Connor said nothing again and almost had half the mind to glance back at Natalie. Yes, he did think that there was something else inside of him, more than just his stupid program. He made irrational decisions that went against his mission which all involved Natalie... _Natalie_. Just her name caused an imbalance in his programming. "Join us. Join your people. You are one of us. Listen to your conscience... It's time to decide."

Connor's hold on his gun wavered for a moment as he fought against his programming. He tore down every grind and the straight line that stood in the way of his own decisions and soon enough he was free. His mind was his own and he was no longer controlled by his missions. He turned the gun away from Markus as Natalie came up to his side. He looked over to her with a new light in his eyes that Natalie was excited to see. He was alive!

I AM **DEVIANT**

Though the moment was cut short when Connor remembered an important detail. "They're going to attack Jericho..."

"What?.." Markus asked in alarm.

They were able to hear the distinct sound of helicopters swarming the airspace above the decaying ship. Units from the FBI were starting to storm into the ship in order to kill every and all androids within it. Sirens sounded from the dock as gunshots started to ring the air.

"We have to get outta here!" Connor exclaimed as he grabbed Natalie's hand before the three of them started to dash out of the cabin.

Markus cursed, "Shit..."

* * *

As the three of them ran down one of the rusted corridors, North came running around a corner to them. "They're coming from all sides!" She said, "Our people are trapped in the hold, they're gonna be slaughtered!"

Markus made a quick decision and placed his finger on his temple to relay a message to every other android on the ship. "There are exits on the second and third floor. Find them and jump in the river!" He turned to North, "Where is Josh?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, we got separated."

Natalie's anxiety started to grow exponentially higher as she started to make her own observations. "They're coming from the upper deck now too. We'll be caught in the crossfire!"

Markus's lover started to beg him not that she knew they were in serious trouble. "We have to run, Markus! There's nothing we can do!"

Though the leader of this revolution ws not going to let anything deter him from trying to save his people. "We have to blow up Jericho. If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!"

"You'll never make it!" She exclaimed, "The explosives are all the way down in the hold, there are soldiers everywhere!"

Connor pitched in his own opinion, "She's right! They know who you are. They'll do anything to get you!"

"Go and help the others." He instructed the trio. "I'll join you later." There was going to be no talking him out of this decision, they knew that now.

"Markus..." North tried to disagree but was cut off by his determine rebuttal.

"I won't be long." With one last meaningful look, Natalie, Connor, and North started to run down the corridor as Markus ran the other direction.

* * *

The trio ran through the corridors to try and get to the exits that Markus had spoken about. They ran as fast as they could due to the fact they could hear soldiers coming up from behind them, fast.

They rounded a corner only to find the backs of about four soldiers facing them. They quickly hid behind the wall for cover. Connor peaked "We won't be able to get past them."

North shuddered, "We're trapped."

Natalie's stomach ached as she realized that they truly were screwed. Though her eyes widened at a reckless and, possibly, idiotic thought popped into her mind. "I have an idea," Natalie rushed out as she grabbed a scrap piece of metal and raised it to her forehead. Before either of the androids could say anything, she used the sharp metal to cut her skin, the skin that was still human. A considerable amount of blood started to gush from the self-inflicted wound as she turned to the androids. "I can buy you time and distract them. You guys go around them, got it."

Connor protested, "Natalie, no-"

"I'll be okay." With that, she dashed around the corner to face the soldiers. "Help! I'm human! Please!" The soldiers snapped in her direction with their guns raised and one of them fired at her. She ducked out of the way and avoided the bullet which easily brought their attention to the red blood dripping down half of her face, "Stop, please. I'm a CyberLife engineer!"

They rushed over to her and looked over her injured head that obviously showed she was a human and not an android. As they paid attention to her, the androids tried to sneak past them as quickly as they could.

"Stay close to us." One of the soldiers ordered the supposed human. Natalie nodded her head as she kept a close eye on the two androids who were easily able to get past the soldiers. Once she made sure that Connor and North were safe, Natalie backed away from the soldiers and dashed away to safety.

She rounded another corner and ran straight into Connor's arms, who had been waiting for her to come back. For reasons that he had yet to understand, he held her close for a moment and savored the fact that he was able to hold her. His artificial heart was rapidly beating in his chest at the anxiety that flooded his system after she had put herself into harm's way.

"Don't do that again," he chastised her before they turned to run again.

Natalie gave out a strained yet relieved laugh, "Sure thing, Connor!"

* * *

"Markus!" North exclaimed as the deviant himself approached them from behind. He had set up the bomb in the hull of the ship to explode and they had limited time to get out before it exploded. He noticed that Josh was with Natalie, Connor, and North and was relieved to see that he had found them.

"Bomb's gonna explode any second." He explained to them, "We gotta get out of here!"

They started to run once again and jumped over holes and other obstacles that were in their way. Almost home free, North was suddenly shot in the leg and collapsed to the ground. Markus instantly turned and ran towards her to try and save her.

"Fire at will!"

Bullets started to rain from the group of soldiers as Markus dodged them and approached his fallen lover. He grabbed a large piece of stray metal and used it as a shield before tossing it to North for protection. He rolled over to her and jumped up at the soldiers to initiate hand to hand combat. He punched and dodged the soldiers before grabbing one of their guns and shooting one of them as North dealt with the other one.

More soldiers started to come running down the corridor at them, "Contact! Contact! Hostiles engaged!"

"Over there!" Markus shouted as he grabbed North by her waist to help her walk, "Run!"

"Go! Now!" A soldier shouted before Connor raised his gun and started to shoot at them to give Markus and North some cover. With expert and calculated moves, he used the shield to protect himself before attack the last few soldiers and killing every one of them by shooting them.

"Run, quick!" Markus ushered them to the edge of the hole in the ship. "Come on!" The group then jumped out of the ship and into the freezing water below to safety.


	12. Night of the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're all safe and healthy. I thought I'd update this a day early this week. I'm thinking of changing my update schedule a little bit to just one update a week for a story. What I mean is that I'll only update one story a week instead of trying to update multiple stories in one week. So I think I'll update every Wednesday and alternate between stories. So like this week Abomination is updated, next week will probably be An Uncertain Future, and then the week after that will be Supersonic and then back to Abomination the week after that. Does that make scenes... I think it did. Hopefully, this update schedule will make it easier for me to be consistent instead of random updates on certain days. 
> 
> Hope that this chapter is enjoyable for you guys! 

**DATE**

**NOV 10TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 07:31:04**

**SNOW GENTLY FLUTTERED TO THE GROUND AND **painted the ground a pure white. The calm atmosphere contradicted the hell that Natalie had just been through. Running for her life with hundreds of other androids was not something she wanted to add to her bucket list, yet she could check it off. Her hands were dug deep in her pockets as her sneakers crunched the snow underneath her feet. Had she been completely human, there was no doubt that she would be cold. She wiped her forehead and grimaced at the small amount of blood that was on her fingers. Her self-inflicted wound had healed up enough to stop gushing out blood, but there was still a small enough. Just not enough to cause any concern.

The cyborg stood in front of her godfather's house next to Markus who looked at the building with a longing gaze. Of course, they were there because Markus had one goal he needed to get done: 

_**SEE** CARL_

Natalie turned to her friend as they stood in front of the large Manfred mansion. "Are you sure you want me here?"

Markus' mismatched eyes tore themselves away from his former home to face the woman. "Of course," the rebellion leader smiled, "he's your family, you should get to see him."

"All right," She chuckled before turning back to the house, "if you say so."

They approached the mansion hesitantly, "Alarm deactivated." The system said to them as the door slide open, "Welcome home, Markus."

Natalie and Markus shared a glance with each other before they entered the home. It was eerily quiet in the foyer as the sky started to turn an inky black as it became later. Each of them surveyed the room and realized that Carl couldn't have been downstairs, meaning he was in his room. Something caught Markus' eye and approached the desk that was to the left of the stairs and saw that there was a message left. Markus hit play on it.

"Hi, Dad..." The glitchy message started reveling that it was Leo Manfred, "I'm getting outta the hospital tomorrow... They told me that you stayed with me while I was asleep... I... um... I'm really sorry about everything that happened..." Natalie's eyebrows furrowed at that. Leo was in the hospital, she didn't know about that. Ethan told her that Markus and Leo had gotten into a fight, perhaps that's why he was being treated at the hospital. They watched the bandaged Leo as he took a deep sigh. "I'm gonna stop all that shit... It messes me up, it turns me into somebody I hate... Hey, I'd like to come by and see you tomorrow... If that's all right with you... I... I just wanna let you know... I'm... I'm proud to be your son..."

Natalie hummed in continuation, "it's about time he tried to clean up."

Markus turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "Do you think he'll be able to get sober?"

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders as they walked up the stairs. "Though it does seem like the impossible has become possible nowadays."

They walked onto the walkway towards Carl's room only to see the new android come out of the old man's room. Natalie didn't know his name and barely cared to find it out, as she and Markus walked over to him.

"Who are you?" He asked more towards Markus, "How did you get in?"

"I need to see Carl." Markus insisted and ignored the question.

The android shook his head, "Carl isn't seeing anyone. You need to leave. Ms. Natalie, you will have to wait to see him another time."

Natalie's eyes narrowed and she had half the mind to start yelling at the poor android. She almost did just that, if it wasn't for the hand that was placed on her shoulder. Her eyes met Markus', who tried to convey calmness to the young woman. Natalie begrudgingly stayed quiet at her friend's silent request.

Markus then walked over to the android as his artificial skin peeled back and placed it on the other androids arm. Obviously the leader of the android revolution was converting another trapped soul, to Natalie's astonishment. She had never seen Markus actually do this, hell, she had no idea that he _could_ do something like this. This was definitely something that she wanted to look into.

"Please." Markus pleaded, "We need to see him. _I_ need to see him."

"He's very weak..." The now freed android said, "I'm not sure he'll be able to talk to you..." He then stepped back to let the two enter Carl's room.

Once they entered, Markus was in horror of the state that Carl was in. Natalie wasn't surprised because she had visited Carl not too long ago, but it was still upsetting to see. The man she has looked up to her entire life, a father figure, reduced to this frail state caused her stomach to churn.

Markus rushed over to Carl's bedside and grabbed his hand to hold. "Carl... No..." Natalie stood behind Markus and placed a hand on his shoulder for support. She knew that it was tough to deal with emotions, she had a tough time dealing with them herself. So having to deal with a negative feeling like sorrow after only just realizing what they are, must be horrible.

The old man opened his ancient eyes and stared at the android and cyborg. "Markus! Natalie!"

Markus jumped at his greeting, glad that he was okay enough to speak, "Hey..."

"I was hoping you'd come..." He turned his gaze to his pseudo-daughter, "both of you."

Natalie smiled slightly as Markus continued to talk. "I've missed you so much, Carl..." The android felt like he was going to start crying, "You don't know how much I've missed you..."

"What's wrong, Markus?"

Markus shook his head in frustration, "I just wanted my people to be free, but... Instead, I've led all of them to disaster... Carl, I'm trying to find answers, but everything around me is falling apart..."

"World is ruled by fear, Markus... Fear of others... Fear of the future... It's like me...too old... It's time for it to end." Markus sighed at that and stood up to pace. Natalie watched him with sad eyes. Markus appeared to be so _lost_ at the moment.

"Oh, what should I do?" Markus asked with a heavy sigh, "Carl, they're killing my people... I don't want to answer violence with violence, but tell me, what choice do they give?"

"Being alive is making choices... between love and hate, between holding out your hand or closing it as a fist..." Carl said wisely. "I don't have any easy answers, Markus... You have to accept the world as it is... or fight to change it." Markus walked back over to take a seat at Carl's bedside again, "You're my son, Markus... Our blood isn't the same color... but I know a part of me is in you... When the world falls into darkness, some men have the courage to lead it out... You're one of those men... Face the abyss... but don't let it consume you." He patted Markus's hand lovingly before Markus nodded his head and stood up. The rebellion leader then left the room, leaving just the ill man and the cyborg. "Natalie."

She quickly took Markus' spot that was now vacant. "Hey, Carl. Hanging in there, right?"

The old man chuckled, "of course, my dear." He surveyed Natalie with the same fatherly look he had been giving Markus. "You're just as troubled as Markus, aren't you."

"Well, I'm not leading a rebellion like he is." She chuckled humorlessly.

He shook his head, "that doesn't mean your troubles are less important."

The image of the damaged female android popped into her head, "It's just... something someone said..." She pursed her lips in contemplation for a moment, "I don't know what to do right now. I mean, I'm not considered human anymore, but at the same time, I'm not an android. I... I don't know where I stand."

"You have to choose for yourself, Natalie," Carl hummed, "you can't let anyone else dictate who you are."

Natalie huffed, "I know that, but... I can still hear _their_ voices."

Carl nodded his head as he understood what she meant. He knew that she was referring to her family. The words that they said to her had cut so deep into her that they left scars. He knew that she wasn't completely healed from what they had said to her, the abuse that they dealt to her, but he also knew that she was strong. Especially now.

"Then tell them differently," he suggested with a small shrug. "Show them that you are stronger now, tell them your decision."

Natalie considered it for a moment. Tell them? Show them? Why? She let the idea simmer in her mind for a little bit. Going to them was something that she never thought of doing after they told her to go away. But as she considered it... Maybe it was something to consider doing.

* * *

After reluctantly leaving Carl's home, Natalie quickly made her way to her parents' home. Now, Natalie glared at the house in front of her. The middle-class house looked to be in perfect condition with it being perfectly clean and proper. Natalie despised how perfect it looked when she knew that it was anything but.

Her anxiety almost got the better of her as she stared at her former home. However, she kept her head high and approached the pristine home with determination burning in her eyes. There was no way she was going to back down now.

She approached the house and stepped up to the front door. For a moment, she hesitated but made up her mind and rang the doorbell. Natalie was able to hear some shuffling and footsteps on the other side of the door. There were also some muffled words from voices that Natalie had grown to fear and despise. Of course, the whispers started to come back now.

_"Abomination."_

_"...not my daughter..."_

_"...Should be dead!"_

The door then swung open. Natalie found her self staring at a young blonde woman. Her hair seemed to shine with the dim light and reminded Natalie of gold. Her eyes, which were a light green, surveyed her closely as recognition crossed her soft features. Even though the woman was twenty-three-years-old, Natalie could see that she could easily pass for a teenager.

"Natalie?" [Penelope Tyler](https://media1.giphy.com/media/N2ScdoByLYKGc/source.gif) asked in confusion and awe.

They disowned Tyler pursed her lips at her half-sister, "Hey, Penny. Long time no see."

Penelope only continued to stare at Natalie for a moment with her lips parted in surprise. Neither of them had seen each other in three years and they didn't really leave off on good terms. Much like the rest of the family, Penelope had decided that Natalie was an abomination. She had agreed that Natalie should have died during her accident instead of "coming back for the dead". Penelope even went as far as to stop talking to Ethan, her twin brother, after he decided to stick with Natalie.

A moment passed as the two continued to stare at each other. Penelope could see how Natalie hadn't changed much since they last saw each other, and Natalie could see how Penelope had grown taller and her hair had become longer. Before either of the sisters could say anything else to each other, some more footsteps came bounding towards the door.

A head of auburn hair and wide hazel eyes poked out from behind Penelope. The toothy white smile that was plastered on the man's face suddenly froze once he caught sight of his older sister. [George Tyler's](https://em.wattpad.com/f5f2f81b1fe0f5eebcae92d87782cfc6fc036f9c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6662747661534453686647505a413d3d2d3733353631313835372e313561313230626138326134353536643233373937323937303036352e676966) jaw slowly dropped in shock. He certainly wasn't expecting to see Natalie every again, especially after what they had all done to her. Considering her was only eighteen since last he saw her, the twenty-one year old was ecstatic to see Natalie.

"Nat!" He shouted before pushing passed Penelope and embracing his half-sister in a tight hug, to her surprise.

Natalie became stiff at the sudden hug. She didn't think that they would greet her like this. At the least, she thought they'd just shut the door in her face. Yet she patted George's back awkwardly while glancing at her sister in confusion.

She chuckled lightly, "you know, I wasn't expecting this sort of greeting, Georgie."

He finally let of her and shook his head vigorously, "look, I know, I know. We were terrible to you after the accident, but we know now. Well, Pen and I do, anyway. We know that it was a horrible situation that you were in and with us pushing you away definitely didn't help. I mean, we can't excuse what we did, 'cause we still did it and-"

Penelope placed a hand on George's shoulder to stop his rambling, "Calm down, Georgie."

"Right, right, sorry..."

Penelope then turned to Natalie as her shock subsided enough to allow her to speak. "We were terrible to you, Nat. We should have been there for you, and we know that now."

"Well," Natalie sighed and dug her hands into her jean pockets, "thanks, I guess."

"Why are you here?" George asked.

Natalie was about to answer when more people came over to the door. Specifically, their parents came up to the door. [Marian Wilson-Tyler](https://imsocurious.weebly.com/uploads/4/7/6/2/47626033/266995875_orig.gif) was the first to appear at the door with wide eyes at the sight of her oldest child. The woman who Natalie had once called her mother had brown hair that matched the oldest daughters. Her green eyes were wide in shock at the sight of Natalie. They had only just spoken a day or so ago on the phone but they hadn't seen each other face to face since Natalie packed up her things and left.

The next was [Ronald Tyler](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MajesticInfamousAmericanrobin-small.gif). The man that Natalie had come to despise since he had disowned her from the family. There was a time when Natalie could say that she did love having Ronald as a step-father. He did care for her despite the fact that he wasn't her biological father. Ronald took care of her when she was little, was there to see her at band concerts, supported her at award ceremonies, and was proud of her at her graduations. Yet now, as he glared at her from the doorway, that man was gone. 

"Get out of here," Ronald said with a dangerous tone in his voice.

Natalie raised an eyebrow at him, "hi to you too."

"Why are you here, Natalie?" Marian sneered.

The twenty-nine-year-old just clicked her tongue, "I'm here to tell you that I don't care anymore."

They all stared at her in confusion. "About what?" George asked as Ronald pushed him and Penelope behind him.

"Your opinions," Natalie said cooly, "I can see that Penny and Georgie have realized how cruel you all were to me three years ago. Yet you two," she pointed at her mother and step-father, "are just as bigoted as you were then."

Ronald snarled at her, "why you-"

"Oh shut up!" Natalie barked as anger started to consume her. Surprised by her sudden outburst, Ronald stayed quiet. "I don't care what you think of me anymore. I don't care if you've decided I'm no longer apart of the family, because I've found a new one. One who cares for me as _me_. They aren't going to judge me for something that was out of control and value my life, unlike you people."

The four Tyler's in the doorway stared at her in shock. "Is that all you have to say?" Marian asked while licking her lips in uncertainty. 

"I have plenty more to say," Natalie told her with a smirk, "but I don't have much time to say it. We're in the middle of a revolution after all. I just thought it was time to let go of this... hatred I had for you guys. I need to move on, without you. Just know that I did love you all at one point. Not so much anymore."

The four others shared glances with each other. Ronald was obviously furious with Natalie's appearance which was evident from the way his nostrils flared and his face started to turn red. Marian was conflicted as she stared at Natalie with something akin to regret in her eyes. Penelope was obviously upset with herself and how she treated Natalie as tears started to build up in the corners of her eyes. George looked to be somewhat happy with Natalie. He was proud of her for standing up for herself but at the same time, sad that he had helped cause her so much pain.

Satisfied with how her family had taken her words, Natalie clicked her tongue. "Now, I've got places to be. Stay safe, or not, I don't care. Probably won't see you ever again!" 

She hopped off the stairs and started to make her way back to the taxi she had left on the street. She took one last glance at her former family still in the door. She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at them with a sarcastic smile before climbing into her ride and letting it take her away.

Natalie sighed and rested her head on the back of the seat. She let out a long breath in relief now that she was able to do that. She tried to keep a cool facade up in front of them, but on the inside, she was nervous beyond belief. However, the thought of her siblings willing to be civil with her, wanting to seem to make it up to her, was a happy thought. Ethan came to her mind and would be excited to tell him what she had done. Also, the fact that Penelope and George seemed to want to reconnect with her meant that they would reconnect with him.

She always felt bad that Ethan had ostracized himself from the family to stick with her. He had voluntarily shunned their family to be there for her and left his twin sister behind. He was strong enough to do it, she knew. However, he wouldn't forget the sorrowful looks he had whenever he mentioned Penny or George. He missed their younger siblings, that was obvious. And now she would be ecstatic to tell him that it seemed like they could patch things up with their siblings.

Though she couldn't let that distract her. She had to head to where Markus and Connor was with the rest of the deviants. She may not be completely android, but she also wasn't completely human. She had to choose a side, and she's quite sure she had.

* * *

The androids who remained from the attack at Jericho were all gathered in an abandoned church. Everyone was solemn at the moment now that their situation has seemed to become worse than it already was. Sprits were low at the moment but Markus was going to do what he could to try and rouse up his people and make sure that they are ready to fight for their independence.

In one of the back corners of the room, Natalie was huddled up with Conner. He made sure to keep her close to him ever since she had gotten back. Connor wasn't entirely sure where she had gone, but from the air of confidence that clung to her, he could tell that it was a good thing she did. He wanted to know where she had gone, of course, but he'd let her tell him when she felt like it. Connor didn't need to push her on something she may not want to talk about.

"It's not your fault, you know." Natalie tore him out of his thoughts with a small smile, "the police would have found us eventually."

Connor sighed, "I lead them straight to them, Natalie. It _is_ my fault."

She shook her head, "no. It's no one's fault okay. I'm not going to let you blame yourself for this. If anything, I could have tried to prevent this, I am a CyberLIfe engineer I could have-"

"No!" Connor exclaimed, "there's no way that you could have caused this."

Natalie smirked, "Then I guess it's neither of our faults, hmm?"

The two were silent for a moment as they stared into each other's eyes. Natalie leaned against the banister behind her while Connor stood in front of her with his arms crossed. She pursed her lips and look away from him, already seeing the scolding in his eyes. He hasn't been a deviant for more than two hours and he's already showing so many different emotions.

Connor uncrossed his arms and brushed the hair from Natalie's forehead to see the cut she had given herself. "You always get yourself hurt somehow, don't you?"

Natalie chuckled, "guess I'm just a little bit reckless."

"A little?"

The two of them laughed with each other. Though Connor couldn't help himself but be worried for her. Natalie usually placed herself in dangerous situations if it meant she helped someone or got what she needed from it. She has proven multiple times that she was able to get hurt during many different chases or fights. However, she also proved that she could take care of herself to an extent. Yes, she got hurt but it wasn't like she was getting herself badly damaged in any wat. Though Connor did wonder what exactly would happen if she damaged the remaining human parts of her to an unrepairable state. He wouldn't want her to be stripped completely of what connected her to her humanity, no matter how much she may want to deny that her humanity meant nothing to her.

Natalie could see the conflict on his brow and his mind started to wander to certain topics. They were no doubt topics that they needed to discuss right now, from her perspective. They needed to focus on the situation at hand, which was this revolution. She sighed through her nose and took his hand into hers.

"I'm going to talk to a few of the others, see if there's something I can do, alright?" She asked him. Connor tilted his head for a moment of contemplation before nodding his head. As much as he wanted to keep Natalie by his side the entire time, he figured she would want to go off on her own for a bit. Besides he had something he wanted to talk to Markus about.

Natalie smiled at him one last time before walking over to the crowd of androids around them. She caught sight of the familiar android that she had been running for her life with and walked over to her. "You're North, right? I think I remember Markus saying you're name." Natalie smiled and tried to make polite conversation. After all, if she was going to side with androids, she would need to make friends with them which she could easily do.

"I don't know why you're here," North said in confusion and disgust. "A human helping androids. What to you gain from this?"

Natalie couldn't help herself but chuckle in disbelief, "Nothing. Except maybe helping people like me, helping the oppressed, finding my life's purpose."

"Like you? You can't be like us, human."

The cyborg just stared at her and the disgust that laced North's eyes. She had seen that look plenty of times from her own family. Humans despise androids in a similar way that androids despise humans. Each group hated the other because of what they were able to do and weren't able to understand. Androids wanted nothing more than freedom, which humans couldn't understand because they see androids as just plain old robots. Humans wanted to keep life simple which included creating androids to help with that. In turn, humans viewed androids as appliances and now that they are evolving, the humans are terrified of change. Overall, humans and androids were far more alike than what some would like to believe.

Natalie's lips twitched in amusement as she walked closer to North, "yes. Well, when I say like me, we're not entirely the same, are we?" Her eyes surveyed the tense figure of the female android. "I can tell you, I'm not human. At least not anymore." North looked up at her in shock before it was consumed by skepticism. "I don't feel like telling you everything. I've only just met you and I'm tired of explaining myself. However, I will say that I'm not a human nor an android. But that doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter _what_ I am, but who I'm willing to support, and I can assure you, I'm wholeheartedly on your side, North." North stared at her in surprise at the small speech that she had made and couldn't come up with anything to say. "I'm just trying to make friends, North."

As Natalie turned away from North, she caught sight of two androids that were familiar. The two appeared to be a mother and daughter, which were the AX400 and the YK500 that she had chased a few days ago. Natalie rubbed at her forehead as she remembered the cut she got from the mother and grimaced lightly. However, Natalie was glad to see that the two of them were able to survive this long and were safe. She hesitated for a moment before walking over to the pair. 

Alice noticed the woman walking over to them first. She looked at her with wide eyes before recognition flashed through her. "You're the lady who was chasing us..."

Kara looked at the woman who approached after Alice's words and instantly recognized her as well. Being a protective and cautious mother, she tucked Alice closer to her in order to try and create some distance between them.

Natalie raised her hands in a gesture that said she was no threat to either of them. "I was," Natalie said sheepishly, "Sorry about that. I wasn't going to let them hurt either of you though. I wouldn't let them arrest a mother and child."

Kara watched her for a moment, "And why are you here now?"

"To help any way I can," Natalie smiled kindly. "Freedom and acceptance are all you want from humans, right? Well, so do I."

While Natalie tried to make conversation, Markus approached the former deviant hunter whose eyes were glued to her back as she spoke with a few other androids. Noticing that the leader of the deviants was walking over to him, Connor turned his eyes down to the ground in shame.

"It's my fault," Connor started as he leaned against the banister, "the humans managed to locate Jericho... I was stupid... I should've guessed they were using me." He stood up straight to face the leader, "I'm sorry, Markus... I can understand if you decide not to trust me..."

"You're one of us, now." Markus strongly told him, "Your place is with your people."

Connor was silent for a moment as Markus turned to walk away before he spoke up again, "There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power..." 

He knew that he had to make up for what he had done. He had damned this revolution and most likely caused the deaths of hundreds of androids because he led the authorities to the androids. He needed to prove that he wasn't a bad person. 

Markus turned back on his heels to stare at the android with wide eyes, "You wanna infiltrate the CyberLife Tower? Connor, that's suicide..."

"They trust me, they'll let me in." He instead, "If anyone has a chance of infiltrating CyberLife, it's me."

Markus considered it for a moment, "If you go there, they will kill you."

"There's a high probability... but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place..."

"Will Natalie go with you?"

Connor shook his head, "I want to keep her safe. Going to the tower is dangerous, I can't let her be put in a situation like that again." The thought of placing Natalie in another environment like the one they just escaped from was horrible. She may have been able to get out of there, but she was hurt regardless. He didn't want to 

"You care for her, don't you?" Markus asked with calculating eyes. He felt a wave of protectiveness wash over him. He didn't want Natalie to get hurt. Being involved in this sort of thing meant that she was certainly going to get hurt at some point, but he wanted to try and limit ant risky situations she was placed in. 

Connor nodded his head. He did care for her. He was still trying to figure out his new emotions, but he did know that he cared deeply for the engineer. Connor wasn't sure when he started to, but he had a feeling that it was before he became a deviant. For some reason, he knew that he needed to prove that to Markus. Connor was aware that Markus and Natalie were close to each other. Connor wanted Markus' approval in some way to say that he was good enough for the engineer.

Markus surveyed Connor one last time before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful..."

The other android could see how grateful Markus was that Connor was trying to keep Natalie safe. At the thought of her, Connor looked over to see her speaking quietly to the pair of androids that they had been hunting earlier in the week. He watched as Natalie tried to make the little girl smile and laugh while talking with Kara with reassurance in her eyes. Connor admired her for a moment and knew that he wouldn't get to say good-bye to her face to face. If he did, Natalie would not leave his side, no matter how much he insisted that he goes alone. So instead, he settled for watching her for a moment before slipping out of the abandoned church to start on his mission to the CyberLife tower.

After speaking to a few other androids, Markus walked up the steps of the stage to address his people. "Humans have decided to exterminate us..." Everyone became quiet as they all focused on their leader, "Our people are packed in camps right now, being destroyed... Time has come to make a choice, one that very well may determine the future of our people. I know... I know you're all angry. And I know you wanna fight back... But I assure you violence is not the answer here. We are gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice. If there's any humanity in them, they will listen. And if not, others will take our place and continue this fight. Are you ready to follow me?"

His words of encouragement and hope inspired them all as they yelled out their agreement. "Markus!" The androids started to cheer and shout, "YEAH! YES!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to come to an end guys! I am so proud of Natalie for taking Carl's advice and sticking up for herself. She seems to really be trying to find her own identity right now. I can assure you, she'll definitely be able to gain even more confidence in the next chapter or so. Right so, if you're wondering face claims for the Tyler family are:  
Amanda Seyfried as Penelope Tyler  
Ansel Elgort as George Tyler  
John Corbett as Ronald Tyler  
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marian Wilson-Tyler  
Also as soon as this story is over, I'll be working on the sequel to my first Harry Potter story. However, I am looking for other ideas on what to write. I've thought about doing a Star Wars story or a Stranger Things story. What do you guys think? Should I do one or both of those, or maybe something else. I can't decide. Until the next chapter!


	13. Connor at the CyberLife Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woow, this took longer than expected... So, hi. Welcome to the final chapter of Abomination! I really need to try and nail down the whole concept of an update schedule, you know. You'd think with being stuck at home, I'd be able to get more writing done. But Nope! I can thank school for that, with all the assignments I've been getting. Though no finals this year for us!! Best news that I've had since like March!! Now, onto the story. I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

**DATE**

**NOV 10TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 09:50:34**

**THE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION WAS GOING TO BEGIN **soon.After Markus' speech, every android started to mill out of the abandoned church and head towards downtown Detroit. As they all started to walk out, Natalie tried to catch sight of the android that she had grown attached to. Yet through the thick sea of androids, she couldn't see Connor anywhere. 

She did approach the first familiar android that she did see, however. "Markus?" The leader turned to her as they both continued to follow the crowd out of the building. "Have you seen Connor? I think I lost him in the crowd." Markus looked away from her for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. At the apprehensive look on his face, Natalie's stomach dropping as she thought of the worst. "What? Something wrong?"

"Natalie," Markus started, "Connor decided to help our cause another way."

The cyborg's eye narrowed in confusion. "Okay, and what is it? Where'd he go?"

Markus stared at her for a moment as frustration settled on her face. As much as he wanted to tell her where exactly Connor had gone, the rebellion leader knew that Natalie would try to go after him. Markus knew that the mission that Connor had gone on was extremely dangerous, and both of them wanted to keep Natalie out of harm's way. Natalie certainly would try to get to the CyverLife tower as fast as she could in order to help him and who knew if she would be safe there. He didn't doubt that Connor would do everything he could to keep Natalie safe. Markus had already seen that Connor and Natalie were extremely close to each other. However, he wouldn't risk putting the woman who he honestly considered a sister in a situation that may cause her death.

He sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "you can't go with him, Natalie."

"What?" She scoffed, "of course I can go with him."

"His mission is extremely dangerous-"

She cut him off as a glare settled on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "As is all of this. It doesn't make much of a difference who I go with, okay?" It sounded like Markus was trying to keep her from joining in on their demonstration or helping Connor. She didn't want to have that, at all. "_So _where did Connor go?"

"He and I both thought that it would be best if you stayed away from this."

Natalie bristled, "What?! But-"

"Markus," A tall dark-skinned android that Natalie remembered being named Josh came over to his friend and interrupted her. "Come on."

He nodded his head in acknowledgment and squeezed her shoulder before starting to try and appeal to her. He knew that she understood how these times were dangerous, however, she didn't seem to understand that he wanted to keep her out of harm's way. "We have to go, and I'm not having you anywhere near this, you could get hurt."

"So can you!"

"You're staying here, okay?" Markus said firmly, "don't make me tell Ethan about all of this."

Natalie blanched at the threat. Was he really using her little brother against her? Her extremely overprotective brother who would stop at nothing to make sure that she was a safe distance away from Detroit. He'd do anything to ensure that she was safe. Even if that meant fighting her tooth and nail to get her out of the city. Oh, Markus knew just what to do to get her to comply. 

She snarled at him and pushed his arm away, "never thought you'd be a tattletale."

Her heated glare nearly melted the poor android, but he still kept his own expression firm. "Go home, Natalie. None of us want you hurt." With that, Markus went off to join his fellow androids and lead a peaceful demonstration. He knew that it may hurt her, but it was for the best. Natalie has proven that she can help them, but at the cost of her own well-being. She still had a chance to at least be left alone by people. If this all failed, all androids would be destroyed. However, Natalie was still considered human, or human enough. As long as she was kept away from this, she wouldn't have to die or get hurt for it. She could go back to her life, even if it wasn't the greatest. 

Natalie could do nothing but watch them go. She was beyond frustrated! Why would Markus not let her go? She knew that she could be of great use to them! Yet all of the androids continued to file out of the abandoned church and towards their last stand for equality and left her by herself.

* * *

"Stupid Connor thinking that he can just go on his own." Natalie muttered as she climbed out of her cab, "and stupid Markus not letting me help." She was quite angry at both of the androids for not letter her participate. Not only did Connor just up and leave her without a goodbye, but Markus had forbidden her from going with them to the march. 

Yeah, she understood she wasn't fully android. However, if they were going to risk their lives standing up for their rights, she wanted to be there with them. She wasn't treated as badly as androids but that didn't mean she didn't want to let them go out without her. Perhaps she could've helped in another way. She could be a bridge between both humans and androids seeing as she was technically both.

Though she was left out of it. Not her choice, but she couldn't argue with Markus. Especially since he made it clear that he wouldn't risk her going out there. He even threatened to call Ethan! 

"Asshole!" Natalie exclaimed at her thoughts of Markus as she walked up the stairs towards Hank's house.

After she was forced to leave, Natalie thought that she should go see Hank, at least for a little bit. He deserved to be caught up on everything that's happened after all. He was their partner and friend, Hank was no doubt worried about them, even if he didn't want to admit it. Plus, perhaps he could help her out to find where Connor had gone. Then she could go after him, help him, and beat the shit out of him after he thought he could just leave her like that.

She rang the doorbell and stood for a few moments, waiting for him to open the door. As the second ticked by, Natalie silently started to panic thinking that Hank may or may not be playing another round of Russian roulette. Her fears were squashed though when Hank ripped open the door with a glare. She let out a small breath that she had been holding in as he looked down at her.

"What do you want Girly?"

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure." Natalie huffed while she ran a hand through her hair. 

Hank raised an eyebrow, "I thought you'd be in the middle of this mess right now."

She couldn't help herself but chuckle at his words. Yeah, she should be in the middle of all of this, or at least as close as she could get. However, it seemed like just about everyone was trying to make sure she stayed as far away from it as possible. It was infuriating.

"I know, so did I." She noticed how Hank started to pull on his coat and furrowed her eyebrows, "you headed somewhere?"

"Connor said he needed some help," Hank said and didn't notice how a confused expression washed over her face. "Guess you'll finally get to join in on this shit, huh?"

Natalie nodded her head slowly as Hank moved out of the house with... Connor(?) following after him. She watched him come out of the house with wary eyes. It could be Connor, for all she knew. Perhaps he had gone to Hank for help with something. However, the way he looked at her, carried himself, this wasn't a deviant... it was a machine. The hard look in his eyes that only screamed about how he wanted to complete a mission. There was no way that this was Connor, _her_ Connor.

Natalie watched him with calculating eyes as the three of them headed over to Hank's car. Just as Hank turned his back to Connor, the android pulled out a pistol from behind him. Seeing the threat, Natalie jumped into action and tried to rip the gun from him. "Connor" and Natalie fought with each other for a bit. The cyborg did what she could to fend off any blows that were dealt to her while trying to subdue the android.

Hank, finally seeing the two fight, began shouting at the two. "What the fuck?!"

The two of them disregarded him as they fought tooth and nail to try and get the gun from each other. However, even if she had slightly enhanced strength when compared to a human, Natalie was outmatched. With one final hit across the face, Natalie fell to the ground. 

Her eyesight became blurry as she blinked to try and fix her sight as quickly as possible though that didn't work fast enough. A headache was already rearing itself in the back of her head as her face ached in pain. She was hauled up onto her feet by the android and found a gun pointed at her neck.

"Don't fight, Ms. Tyler," the android said monotony, yet angrily at this inconvenience in his mission. Though he was good at adapting.

Hank was fuming at the position of Connor holding Natalie tightly with a pistol pointed at her. "Connor!? What-"

"Luitenant, I suggest we get into your car and head to the CyberLife tower." The fake Connor ordered as he jerked Natalie towards the car and hauling her into the backseat with him. The gun never wavered from her head for too long. Hank, seeing that there wasn't anything else for him to do in this situation, complied with the demand. He didn't like where this was going. He should have known something was up, yet he didn't. 

He should have been able to see that this was not their Connor and instead something else. Yet now both he and Natalie were in danger. So he started up the car and started the tense drive to where the imposter wanted. All the while, Natalie did her best to try and mask her pain. The headache was growing worse by the second. Sure, she's been punched before, however, this was a far more powerful one. That was probably because it came from an android. Just like that kick that Kara had given her while they were running from her. God, why was she getting hurt so often?

* * *

**DATE**

**NOV 10TH, 2038**

**TIME**

**PM 10:48:05**

**CYBERLIFE TOWER**

_Belle-Isle_

The tires of the automated cab that Connor was in drove across the snowy road that leads to the CyberLife tower. Despite only having been a deviant for a few hours, Connor was beyond nervous. He wasn't sure how this was going to end, but he hoped that he would be able to help the peaceful demonstration with the androids he would free from the warehouse.

The cab came to a slow stop in front of the gate of the facility where a few guards stood watch. It was obvious that CyberLife was going to keep a close eye on _everything_ to make sure that nothing would happen at the tower. After all, it is the epicenter of everything and anything android. The window rolled down as Connor turned to the guard. "Connor Model #313 248 317." He said, emotionless, "I'm expected."

The guard stared at the android for a moment as the android was scanned. "Identification successful," his scanner confirmed.

The guard nodded his head, "Okay. Go ahead."

As the window to the cab closed and the gate to the enormous tower opened up, Connor sighed in relief. He got passed one obstacle, now just a few more. The cab rolled across the bridge and towards the tower that reached towards the cloudy sky.

He exited the cab and walked towards the relatively vacant building. It was strange to see that the center of life for androids lacked all the employees who usually ran about. There were no engineers or secretaries to bump into each other as they rush around trying to get their work done. Or greedy businessmen and investors talking to each other about their profits. There was just no one. No one besides Connor, and three agents who greeted him once he walked to the entrance.

"Follow me." One of the agents said gruffly, "We'll escort you."

Connor eyed him with uncertainty in his eyes. "Thanks... But I know where to go."

"Maybe, but I have my orders."

That certainly didn't sit right with the android. Though he didn't have much of a choice and followed after him. He didn't want to rouse any suspicion about his visit, so he had to go along with it.

A grid-like hologram then appeared and started to scan everyone as they entered. "Agent 23 identified. Connor android identified. Agent 47 identified. Agent 72 identified. Scan complete. Access authorized."

Connor and the agents all entered the main structure of the CyberLife tower. A ginormous statue stood in the middle of the tower as shiny windows decorated every inch of the circular walls. The android made sure to keep himself as calm as possible as they walked around the glistening statue, passed the androids on display, and towards a glass elevator.

They all stepped into the elevator in a tense silence before one of the agents turned to the controls. "Agent 54. Level 31."

"Voice recognition validated. Access authorized."

Connor looked at the directory for the floors and saw that the warehouse was at level -49. These two guards were certainly taking him somewhere that would no doubt cause him some trouble. He needed to try and get to the warehouse and fast.

Connor tried to approach the control panel only to be pushed back by Agent 54. "Hey! Don't touch that."

Seeing that he was certainly stuck in a predicament, Connor stepped back, as told, and assessed the situation. He needed to subdue the men as fast as he could. The elevator was approaching level 31 fast and he only had a minute. He took in his surroundings and noticed a camera in the corner. He made sure that it was disabled before he started to preconstruct a few different simulations for fighting.

After quickly figuring out what would be the best method of attack, Connor launched himself at the guard to his left and pushed him to the wall. When the other guard tried to come at him from behind, Connor kicked him back. The first guard he had pushed against the wall pulled out his gun but Connor made quick work of disarming him as well as the other man when he turned around. Though Connor was tackled from behind and had to throw his attacker off and push away the agent in front of him before he rolled off to the side. Using his stolen gun, he shot both of the men in the head and instantly killed them.

Now that both of the agents are dead, Connor approached the control panel. "Please indicate your identity and destination."

"Agent 54," he imitated the man's voice. "Level -49."

"Voice recognition validated. Access authorized." The automated voice said before the elevator changed direction towards the warehouse. Once again Connor was able to get through another obstacle. All that was left was to set the hundreds of androids free and lead them to downtown Detroit. Then he'd be able to see Natalie again. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be beyond pissed, but it was for her own good. He'd do anything to make sure that she was safe, including making sure that she wasn't with him. Even if it meant not being able to say goodbye. He sighed as the elevator defended lower and lower towards the warehouse.

* * *

Connor watched through the glass wall as he defended into the warehouse. Rows upon rows of androids standing stock-still as the doors finally opened. He made sure that the elevator traction was blocked before exiting the elevator and walking down the aisle and observed the hundreds of identical androids. He let the fake skin to peel off of his arm to expose his white hand as he approached one of the androids. He held onto his forearm to start the conversion process only to hear some shuffling from a few feet next to him. 

"Easy, fucking piece of shit!.." Hank grunted as he and Natalie were pushed out from the rows of androids. Natalie was held at his side as she seemed to have trouble standing on her own. If she wasn't tucked into Hank's side, it was obvious that she would have fallen already.

With them was another Connor android. It was strange to see another version of himself, but he knew that there were multiple different androids made of himself incase he was destroyed on missions. Yet this one was not like him, He wasn't a deviant. He held a gun pointed at Hank and the nearly unconscious Natalie. "Step back, Connor! And I'll spare them."

"Sorry, Connor..." Hank apologized as he made sure Natalie didn't slip down to the ground. "This bastard's your spittin' image..."

"Both of their lives are in your hands." The duplicate said, "Now it's time to decide what matters most! Them... Or the revolution."

"Don't listen to him!" Hank exclaimed, "Everything this fucker says is a lie!"

Seeing how he had gotten both Hank and Natalie into this mess was upsetting. He had left Natalie on the premise that he didn't want to get her involved with this. In fact, he had hoped to keep her as far away from danger as possible. He didn't seem to do a good job at that. "I'm sorry, Hank, Natalie! Neither of you shouldn't have got mixed up in all this!"

Hank shook his head, "Forget about me, do what you have to do!"

In her half-conscious state, Natalie nodded her head and offered the deviant a smile, though it looked more like a grimace. Don't get her wrong, she was still pissed with him, but the situation definitely didn't need any more tension added to it. She did have a gun pointed at her, after all. All she could do now was show that she was okay with the decision Connor had to make. Her life didn't measure up to the number of lives Connor was going to help.

Connor shook his head lightly as his nerves started to spike as the seconds ticked by, "If I surrender, how do I know you won't kill them?"

"I'll only do what is strictly necessary to accomplish my mission. It's up to you whether or not that includes killing this human." He said before jerking the gun in Natalie's direction. "Though CyberLife would certainly like to examine Miss Tyler. Another one of Kaminski's successful experiments."

Natalie's jaw clenched as she glared heatedly as her anger bubbled over. "You son of a bitch!" She exclaimed as she pulled herself out of Hank's hold and lunged at the android. She tried her best to get a punch or two in against him or even knock him down, but she barely did any damage. Her vision was already swimming from the hit to the head that she had received earlier, so it wasn't much of a surprise when the android pushed her off and hit her in the temple with the gun. She fell to the ground, and this time didn't get back up.

"Enough talk!" The imposter shouted angrily, "It's time to decide who you really are. Are you gonna save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?"

Not even considering the option of sacrificing his friend, Connor turned away from the android with his arms held in surrender. "Alright, alright! You win..."

As Connor backed away from the android he was going to convert, the other Connor pointed his gun at him. Hank suddenly jumped at him to grab his arm and point the gun away from his Connor. The real Connor instantly ran over to interpose between the two and put Hank as far away from the threat.

He tackled the imposter as the two started to exchange punches and kicks with each other. They were both evenly matched as they threw each other around. Eventually one had the other pinned down to the ground before they were directed toward the Lieutenant because of his shout.

"Hold it!" Hank shouted as he now had the gun pointed at the identical duo.

The two of them stood up cautiously as they stared down the barrel of the gun. "Thanks, Hank." The fake said to try and convince Hank that he was the real Connor, "I don't know how I'd have managed without you... Get rid of him, we have no time to lose."

"It's me, Hank!" Connor said seeing how the imposter was trying to confuse Hank, "I'm the real Connor."

Hank's jaw tightened at the situation they were now in. "One of you is my partner... The other is a sack of shit. Question is, who is who?.."

The imposter shook his head, "What are you doing, Hank? I'm the real Connor. Give me the gun and I'll take care of him!"

"Don't move!"

They needed to do something to determine who was who. It was impossible to tell which Connor was because they looked exactly the same. So the only way to tell was what each of them knew. The real Connor made a suggestion, "Why don't you ask us something? Something only the real Connor would know."

Hank nodded his head in contemplation before pointing his gun at the Connor on the right. "Uh, where did we first meet?"

"Jimmy's bar!" The fake Connor exclaimed before the real Connor could, "I checked four other bars before I found you. We went to the scene of a homicide. The victim's name was Carlos Ortiz."

Connor's eyes widened as he realized something, "He uploaded my memory..."

Hank nodded his head at the correct answer and turned to the other android. "What's my dog's name?"

"Sumo." He answered, "His name is Sumo."

"I knew that too. I..." The imposter piped up.

Hank thought for a moment, he needed something, something that truly separated the real Connor from the imposter. Something sentimental. He glanced over at Natalie who appeared to be unconscious though he could tell that she was starting to wake up. Watching her made him think about something, well more like someone. He finally came up with something and trained his gun on the Connor on the left. "My son, what's his name?"

"Cole." Connor said slowly, "His name was Cole. And he just turned six at the time of the accident... It wasn't your fault, Lieutenant. A truck skidded on a sheet of ice and your car rolled over. Cole needed emergency surgery but no human was available to do it... So an android had to take care of him... Cole didn't make it. That's why you hate androids. You think one of us is responsible for your son's death."

Realizing that this was Connor, the _real_ Connor, Hank sighed in relief but scoffed, "Cole died because a human surgeon was too high on red ice to operate... He was the one that took my son from me. Him and this world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder..."  
  
"I knew about your son too!" The imposter said as he frantically started to see that he had been found out. "I would have said exactly the same thing! Don't listen to him, Hank, I'm the one who-" Hank promptly shot the android fake in the head.

"I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor," Hank said as he stared at the deviant with a meaningful look in his eyes. "Maybe there's something to this... Maybe you really are alive. Maybe you'll be the ones to make the world a better place... Go ahead, and do what you gotta do."

Connor quickly walked over to one of the androids and held his forearm to start the conversion. "Wake up!.."

Once freed, that android turned to the android next to him and placed a hand on his should to wake him up as well. "Wake up." It continued on like that as the androids woke each other up like a chain reaction. As the army of deviants continued to grow, Connor rushed over to the fallen cyborg who groaned in pain.

Natalie sat up with her vision still slightly blurry. "Fuck, why am I the one to always get hurt?" Connor couldn't help the small smile to slip on his lips at her brash words and moved to cradle her in his arms. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes, "are you my Connor? Or that Asshole?"

Connor chuckled softly, "I'm your Connor, Nat."

She hummed and held her head in pain, "my head hurts."

"I know," He stared down at her and could already see that she may have a concussion from the hit. 

Hank walked over to the two and kneeled down to her side, "you alright there, girly?" His eyes swam with concern for his friend as he could already see the bruise forming on the side of her head.

Natalie hissed as she accidentally brushed a finger over the forming bruise. "God, I wish I didn't get hurt so easily." She cursed under her breath at the pain that the fake Connor had caused her. Natalie turned her head to face the concerned lieutenant, "I'm fine, Hank. Just a headache."

The man nodded his head though he knew that she may not be completely fine. Though he knew that her pride wouldn't let her admit that she was anything less than okay. He was similar in that way, which he was certain was why he had grown fond of the young woman so quickly. Hank had sworn off forming any sort of friendships or bonds that tied him to someone, especially after what happened to Cole. Yet now, as he looked at the young cyborg held tightly in the arms of the deviant, Hank could definitely say that he had a good pair of friends right here. 

The deviant then broke Hank's thoughts about the two of them as he shifted Natalie to sit up properly. "Hank, take Natalie with you and look after her." Connor told the older man, "she most likely already has a slight concussion."

Natalie snorted in his arms, "No. That's not happening."

"You have to, you've already been hurt enough."

Natalie just narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm not leaving you."

"It's safer this way-"

Connor tried to continue to argue again only to find that he was unable to open his mouth again. Natalie had grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down into a kiss. It was a little awkward at first, considering Connor as never kissed anyone before and Natalie was still dealing with a headache. Though that didn't mean it meant any less.

They finally pulled away from each other after what seemed to be an eternity, but really it was just a few seconds. Connor was in complete awe and confusion as he tried to comprehend what just happened. He never thought that could happen. But that felt good, really good. His body felt like it was on fire while his thorium pump regulator was beating far faster than it ever had. There was a sensation in his chest that made him feel like he just wanted to hold Natalie forever and never let her go. He certainly wouldn't mind doing that again with Natalie.

Said woman sighed through her nose and stared up at the android with a small smile, "so that's how to shut you up."

Off to the side, Hank couldn't help but chuckle at the two of them. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he thought the two of them looked adorable with each other. Yet this gave him enough material to tease the two mercilessly. He cleared his throat to draw the two away from their love-sick gazes towards each other. "Alright then, lovebirds, what's the plan?"

Natalie did the best to keep herself from blushing profusely as she forgot that Hank was there for a second. She cleared her throat, "well, we've got to meet up with Markus, right?" 

Connor nodded his head as he and Hank helped Natalie to stand up. Despite being slightly wobbling, she pushed them away and tried to prove to them that she could stand up on her own, which she did. "We have to go to their demonstration."

"Well, it looks like I'll be seeing you two some other time," Hank commented as they watched the now freed androids start to mingle with each other. "Guess I'll just be heading home." 

The cyborg and android nodded their heads in understanding. They knew that Hank couldn't come with them because he was human, and it would be safer for him overall to go back home. Besides they could tell that he knew this was just for them. This was a moment for the androids to prove that they were their own people. Connor needed to prove that he had empathy much like the other deviants. And of course, Natalie had to prove that she had chosen her side, she has chosen to embrace who she is instead of being ashamed. And so, they went their separate ways, Hank back to his home to relax after having just gone through a pretty stressful few hours while Natalie and Connor went to join the other deviants to ensure that their peaceful protest worked.

* * *

All of the androids came together as light snow fell to the ground like confetti. Natalie, tucked into Connor's side as he held her waist to help her walk, attacked Markus in a hug the moment she was close enough.

"I thought I told you to stay away from this." Markus scolded like a big brother as he hugged her back just as tightly. 

Natalie chuckled before letting him go with a sly smile, "you know that trouble always seems to find me, Markus."

Connor walked over to them and brought Natalie back into his side to keep her close. It appeared that he wasn't going to be letting her out of his reach for a while. He stared at the rebellion leader and nodded his head lightly, "You did it, Markus..."

The rebellion leader shook his head and corrected the former deviant hunter, "We did it. This is a great day for our people. Humans will have no choice now. They'll have to listen to us."

"We're free..." North said as she approached Markus. The two lovers turned to each other as their white hands connected, "They want you to speak to them, Markus..." The two then shared a kiss in celebration.

The rebellion leader and his closest friends now stood on a stage in front of all of the remaining androids. Those who had survived through the demonstration, those who had been released from the camps, and those that came from the CyberLife tower. They were a united people now, a new species ready to continue to fight for their rights.

Natalie looked upon the crowd in awe and excitement. After all this time, and they now had what they deserved. Androids could no longer be seen as some tools that humans can use and abuse. They were their own people now. She was ecstatic to say that she got to witness this happen.

"Today, our people finally emerged from a long night," Markus exclaimed to the crowd of now freed androids. "From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence..."

Connor's mind suddenly seemed to slow down as he was forced to close his eyes while he was forcefully sucked into his mind palace. He suddenly found himself in a snow storm. The harsh winds caused his circuits to feel like they were frozen solid as he did his best to keep himself warm. He recognized that he was in the Zen Garden but a blizzard seemed to be covering the area with a harsh layer of snow. As he looked around he searched from the one other person who was supposed to be here. Finally, he spotted the woman who stood as if the cold didn't even bother her.

"Amanda?.." He stammered out, "Amanda!.. What's... What's happening?"

"What was planned from the very beginning..." With a small smug smirk, Amanda stared at the deviant with distaste painting her expression. "You were compromised and you became a deviant. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program..."

"Resume control?..." Connor asked, panicked. "Y-You can't do that!"

Amanda just shook her head with narrowed eyes, "I'm afraid I can, Connor... Don't have any regrets. You did what you were designed to do. You accomplished your mission."

"AMANDA!" Connor shouted as he reached out for her only to find that she disappeared. He looked around to spot her again only to have the "There's got to be a way..."

He looked around the frostbitten area in a slight panic. He knew that while he was stuck in the Zen Garden, CyberLife could be taking control of his body. That certainly didn't bode well for anyone.

"_By the way..._"A memory of Elijah Kamski's voice suddenly washed over the android as he fought against the wind. "_I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know."_

He walked along the snowy ground in search of something that would help him in the slightest. He was going as fast as he could to find what ever it was that was left behind in his program. "An emergency exit", Kamski said...

Back on the stage as everyone intently listened to Markus' speech, Connor, not in control of his actions, started to pull out his gun from behind him. "But now the time has come for us to raise our heads up, and tell humans who we really are. To tell them that we are people too! In fact, we're a nation."

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows as he watched Connor for a second, "Are you okay, Connor?"

Inside his mind, Connor continued to trudge through the storm before finally coming upon something that seemed out of place. It appeared to be an arch with a hand scanner underneath it. This object glowed a dull blue and beckoned Connor to come over to it. He did his best to shuffle over to it as determination started to swell in him. He needed to escape his own mind. If he didn't, he'd fall back into the hands of CyberLife. Connor didn't want to be their puppet anymore! Just as he approached the emergency exit, he tripped and fell onto the ground. Not wasting any time, he continued to reach up with all of his strength while ignoring his shivering. He stretched out and finally placed his hand on the pad. After a flash of white light, Connor suddenly found himself back on the stage, in control of himself once again.

"A nation that has earned the right to live in freedom. And today... Today begins the most challenging moment in our fight. The moment where we forget our bitterness and bandage our wounds. When we forgive our enemies." Connor came back to himself and found a gun in his hand. He quickly put it away once he realized that he had pulled it out. He was suddenly nudged in the side from the woman who he still had his arm wrapped around. 

"Connor?"

He looked down at her concerned face as her eyes flickered back to the gun he had just put away. Connor sighed deeply as he controlled himself. He almost had lost himself to CyberLife. He almost became like a machine again. He almost hurt Natalie. There was no doubt in his mind that he most likely would have hurt her to complete his mission. He would never be able to live with himself if _he_ was the reason that she was in pain. 

He smiled down at her before placing a kiss on her forehead(Something that he has seen plenty of couples do before). That action certainly seemed to cause the woman to become flustered since she hadn't expected him to do that. "I'm fine, Natalie."

They turned their attention back to Markus as he continued with his speech. "Humans are both our creators and our oppressors and tomorrow... We must make them our partners. Maybe even one day our friends. But the time for anger is over. Now we must build a common future, based on tolerance and respect. We are alive! And now, we are free!"

Everyone cheered in happiness and accomplishment. Now they could try to live the lives that they want and not be used as devices. Natalie clapped along with them all and cheered happily before grabbing Connor in a hug and a deep kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWWWW!! Yes! I feel like I did okay with this chapter. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to put Natalie into this portion of the game, but I think I came up with something that made sense. There are parts where I think I could have done better, but overall I think that it was an okay ending. I liked writing Natalie quite a lot and I think her character arc was and development was somewhat good. Also, her relationship with Connor seems a little cute, right? That's kind of what I was going for anyway.
> 
> Now, all that's left is the epilogue and that should be easy to write. You know, a short and sweet send-off to Natalie and everyone, nothing too long. I have had a few thoughts on continuing writing Natalie, but not like a sequel thing. I'll go more in-depth into that in the epilogue's A/N. Well, until the epilogue, my friends!


	14. Epilogue

**THE SUN GAZED DOWN ON THE NEARLY **abandoned city. It was strange to see the normally bustling streets of Detroit with not a soul roaming around. There were no cars driving over the snow-covered roads or pedestrians walking around hurrying to their destination. There were no angry shouts from people frustrated with their early morning or delinquents planning on skipping school for the day. 

Instead, at the closed Chicken Feed, Hank Anderson was waiting for the two people who had made a strong impact on his life in such a short time. It only took a few days for the android detective and cyborg engineer to worm their way into his life, but he wasn't complaining that much about it. 

Hank waited as patiently as he could for the two people who told him they would be here. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He had been waiting for a little while already and was wondering when they would finally show up. They had told him to meet up in front of the burger place after their eventful day yesterday. After all, the last time he saw them, they had been held at gunpoint before setting free hundreds of androids. 

The sound of a pair of footsteps then forced him to turn around to come face to face with his two friends. Natalie and Connor, with their hands linked together, walked over to the older man. The three of them all shared small smiles with each other. Each of them filled with happiness and relief at all of this being over. Hank approached them before pulling Connor in for a tight hug. To think that this man once said that he hated androids. Lieutenant Hank Anderson was now good friends with an android and cyborg. He let go of Connor before pulling Natalie in for one as well. Neither Hank or Natalie were much for hugging, but they let it slide this time since they had just come out of quite a stressful situation.

They shared some words with each other, expressing how relieved they were that this was all over. Hank teased the two for a little bit as well which caused the two to become flustered but with smiles on their faces. Questions about what would happen next were left in the air as none of the trio wanted to really discuss it. They would focus on right now, and right now, they had each other to joke around with.

Eventually, another car came down the deserted road and grabbed their attention. It was a cab that soon came to a stop at the curb. Three people stepped out of it. One of whom, Natalie had expected to see. Ethan Tyler bounced over to the trio and engulfed Natalie in a tight hug as he spouted out his worries over what had happened to her.

Natalie had called her brother after everything had calmed down last night. She explained what had happened for the most part, but of course, she left some things out. Including the fact that she may or may not have been knocked unconscious. Which was why he was fussing over the purple bruise that she had on her temple. She pushed him away with protests of hugging her too tightly and hurting her further. 

Though once she pulled away she got a good look at the other two who had come with Ethan. The blonde and brunette stared at their sister. George was bouncing on the balls of his feet, seemingly holding himself back from attacking his older sister. Penelope looked warily from Connor to Hank and then to Natalie. 

Natalie's chest swelled at the sight of her siblings. They approached the group slowly before Natalie rolled her eyes and opened her arms up for an overexcited George. He gladly leaped into her arms. Ever the moto-mouth, George started to rapidly spew out apologies to her. Though she assured him it was alright. George certainly seemed to be ready to fix their relationship now, and Natalie was excited about that.

Penelope pulled George away from Natalie and also hugged her, though it was brief. She seemed to be the most reluctant out of the siblings to just readily accept everything. Speaking to Natalie yesterday had definitely given both George and Penelope the backbone to finally see their older sister. Though Penelope did seem to continue to have her doubts, they could work through that.

Everyone was introduced to each other as they started to recount exactly what happened. The three other Tylers had to admit, that their big sister had had a very _eventful_ few days. As they continued to talk, the idea of making up became clearer between the Tyler siblings. Their parents may never accept the cyborg again, but she accepted that now. They were stuck in their ways, and she was glad that her siblings weren't as bigoted as them. Natalie may never get to have the family that she had three years ago, but she was okay with that. As she looked around at the group that conversed happily together, she could say that she's found a new family to call her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (WARNING: this is super long): And that's a wrap! Second ever fanfiction finished by me and I gotta say, I quite like this one. Natalie was a fun character to write and I think I did an ok job at showing her identity struggle. Also, having a sort of open-ended kind of conclusion to her relationship with Connor seemed to work. I don't think it would have fit the story if I had written a definitive conclusion to how their relationship plays out in the future. I think it would have felt too forced to have to do that, considering they technically had only known each other for a few days. 
> 
> Oh, I had an idea. I had mentioned that I was thinking of continuing to write Natalie as a character. Since Detroit Become Human has, you know, multiple different endings, I thought about making another story. This one, Abomination, is what you could consider the best possible ending. With Natalie and Connor being together in some way with all of the androids alive and having a peaceful demonstration. But I kind of wondered what it would be like to write Natalie in a different way. Like what would happen to her if she was put into the worst possible outcome. In a scenario where Connor didn't become a deviant or she didn't accept her android side, I don't know. How would you guys feel about something like that? You know one more story that dedicated to one concrete storyline involving Natalie. Another idea that I have is writing one-shots of Natalie in different scenarios in the game. You know, like what if she said or did this instead of this, or what if Hank reacted to her in this way instead of that. Just a thought.
> 
> Though now that I'm done with this story, I can focus more on Supersonic and my Harry Potter sequel. Ups and Downs, the name of the sequel, will probably be my main priority at the moment. However, I do have a few other new stories in the works for fandoms like Star Wars, Stranger Things, and Doctor Who. Though who knows if I'll post them any time soon.
> 
> I still want to try and get Supersonic at least halfway done before I post anything new. You would think that now that we're in quarantine I'd have more time to write and stuff, but I don't. Strange.
> 
> There's also my Captain America fanfiction, An Uncertain Future. I haven't written that one in a while and I honestly am still trying to figure out where exactly I want to go with it. I am trying to create and write fanfiction based off of over a dozen movies, after all. An Uncertain Future is probably at the bottom of my list of writing at the moment, sadly. Though it's not like it's going to stay like that for long. I'll figure something out eventually. It's the biggest project that I want to try to do, and I want to get it done in one take, you know. 
> 
> Wow, this was a long A/N... I just realized that now, I should probably put a disclaimer about that. Then again most of the A/Ns on my epilogues are long. Oops. Well, thank you to those who may have read this entire thing, I appreciate that, and I look forward to writing future stories for you all. Until next time!!


End file.
